Holders battle back for draw

Defending champions Spain rescued a point in a dramatic UEFA European Futsal Championship encounter that saw them throw away a two-goal lead.

Late equaliser
The Spanish scored twice at either end of the first half in Caserta, only to be pegged back within two minutes off the restart, conceding twice in quick succession. When Pedro Costa then put the Portuguese in front the Spanish had just six minutes to try and find an equaliser. With half that time gone, and amid some frantic attacking, Javier Orol blasted into the net to make honours even.

Julio goal
There was no sign of the drama to come in the early stages of this Group B contest. Both sides traded possession, with the Spanish holding the slight edge as befitted their status as favourites. They scored their first after just three minutes thanks to a close-range effort from Julio before Cobeta made it 2-0 in the 18th minute.

Brave fightback
It seemed the second half would be an uphill battle for the Portuguese team. However, barely two minutes into the second 20-minute period the scores were level thanks to goals from André and Gonçalo. The first came after the ball was zipped around the Spanish area before ending up at the feet of André who converted with expertise. Then, barely a minute later, Gonçalo hit a powerful left-foot drive towards the corner of the goal which Kike could only turn into his own net.

Strong in defence
The Spanish were stunned but looked to have gained the upper hand again when Portugal's Ivan was sent off for a second yellow card. However, Spain could not make the extra man count and a strong defensive display from the three remaining outfield players for the next two minutes kept them at bay.

Joy to misery
Portugal were buoyed by their resilience and took the lead for the first time soon after being returned to their full complement of players. Formiga played the ball to Pedro Costa who scored with a forceful shot. Joy turned to misery for Pedro Costa soon after though as he pulled up with a leg injury that could cost him his involvement in the rest of the competition.

Strong goalkeeping
For the next five minutes Spain tried their utmost to restore parity, with Joan particularly unlucky on a number of occasions. João Benedito was in fine form though in goal and seemed set for to help his side to a famous victory, However, with time running out, Javier Orol latched on to Daniel's pass and shot under the Portuguese goalkeeper's body to seal a draw.

Not surprised
Javier Lozano, the Spanish coach, said: "We were not surprised by the standard of the Portuguese. Our problem was the quality of our defending. The goals we let in were a bit childish. But that's Futsal. There's still a lot of the tournament left."