Luxol St Andrews make it three in a row to reach Main Round

UEFA Futsal Champions League Pre. Round – Group FTromsøhallen Arena, Tromso, Norway Sjarmtrollan (Norway)      3Luxol St Andrews (Malta) 8Maltese futsal champions Luxol St Andrews secured a place in the Main Round of the 2019-20 Futsal Champions League after beating hosts Sjarmtrollan 8-3 to end their group commitments in Norway with a maximum nine points from three matches. The Main Round tournament will take place in the second week of October in Prague, Czech Republic.  The final group F match was not easy for Luxol but once again the Maltese champions, led by coach Gabriel Dobre and his assistant Clint Cope, were up for the challenge to obtan an emphatic 8-3 win, their third in a row after beating Fiorentino (San Marino) 5-0 and Dinamo Chisinau (Moldova) 5-3 in their previous outings. This is the third consecutive year a Maltese futsal team has reached the main round of the top futsal competition in Europe as Luxol did it two years ago and Valletta Futsal reached this target last year. It was Sjarmtrollan who took an early lead through Milos Vucenovic but Luxol St Andrews levelled soon after through Leanderson. Luxol then went ahead for the first time through Everton Veve after eight minutes with Maicon increasing their lead as the Maltese outfit took control of the proceedings. Five minutes from the interval, Slovenian Dejan Bizjak made it 4-1 with an accurate 10-metre shot beating Norwegian keeper Vik before Celino Alves grabbed the fifth 90 seconds from half-time as Luxol established a commanding lead. Vucenovic reduced the deficit for the hosts (2-5) with his second of the game. Six minutes into the second half, Vucenovic completed his hat-trick beating his counterpart Kenneth Rakvaag in the Luxol goal with a fine finish. However, moments later, Vucenovic was given a straight red card for a bad foul on Leanderson. Luxol St Andrews regained the upperhand with Maicon also completing his hat-trick with two goals in quick succession five minutes from the end. Now Luxol St Andrews were cruising and Bizjak rounded the scoring with a delightful lob from the distance to secure an 8-3 victory and qualification to the Main Round. LUXOL STARTING VKenneth Rakvaag, Dejan Bizjak (2), Celino Alves (1), Zvezdan Vukovic, Emil Raducu.Also in action: Dragan Obradovic, Nicola Del Re, Everton Veve (1), GianCarlo Sammut, Mark Zammit (capt), Maicon (3), Andy Mangion, Leanderson (1), Marwan Telisi. SJARMTROLLAN STARTING VVik, Vucenovic, Milos Vucenovic (3), Schjetne (capt), Simonsen.Also in action: Rydeng, Maehle, Eggen, Johnsen, Fossli, Jorgensen, Allertsen, Waage. Other result: Dinamo Chisinau vs FC Fiorentino 9-2 FINAL STANDINGSLuxol St Andrews 9 points; Dinamo Chisinau 4; Sjarmtrollan 4; FC Fiorentino 0.