Irish Futsal champions off to winning start in UEFA Futsal Cup
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Ireland's top Futsal side got off to a winning start in the UEFA Futsal Cup this evening when EID (Eden College) beat Turkish champions TUFAD Ankara 3-2 in a thrilling encounter in Vienna.
EID are set to go head to head with host club FC All-Stars Wiener Neustadt after the Austrian champions beat Switzerland's Minerva 9-4 in the other game in Group C.
Rafael Souto put EID ahead when he found the net less than three minutes into the clash with Ankara.
Moroccan star Badr Bouznig extended the Irish side's lead in the seventh minute and the EID domination continued with Leonardo Campos De Farias finding the net in the 11th minute.
Ankara pulled one back through Onur Atik less than three minutes before the break and the tie got tense when Burak Isikay made it 3-2 with just under seven minutes left. The Irish side used their experience to hold on and claim the three points.
The group winners will progress to the main qualifying round which will see the Group C winners travel to Hungary for Group 6 where hosts ETO FC Gy?r, Azeribaijan stars Araz Naxçivan and Dutch side CF Eindhoven (NED) lie in wait.
The Irish champions were the first team from this country to ever progress to the main qualifying round in the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2010 when the club was partnered with Sporting Fingal. EID meet Minerva in their second group match on Thursday afternoon.
EID (Eden College): Eduardo Maria; Rodrigo de Melo, Rafael Souto, Helio Neto, Leandro Maia; Elias Lourenco Junior, Vinicius Terco, Leonardo Bianchi, Filipe Amaral Da Costa, Matheus Zanettin, Leandro Campos De Farias, Badr Bouznig.
