Draw takes Dolnoslaski through
Sunday, June 24, 2007
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Dolnoslaski AMA 1-1 Aveiro AMA Poland's Dolnoslaski reached the final as Group B winners after getting the point they needed.
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Poland's Dolnoslaski AMA are through to the UEFA Regions' Cup final thanks to a draw against Portuguese representatives Aveiro AMA.
Point enough
Dolnoslaski needed a point to top Group B and took the lead early through Arkadiusz Piech's early goal. José Bastos equalised in the second half but Aveiro could not claim a winner, as group runners-up receive bronze medals for finishing joint third in the tournament. Bulgarian hosts South-East Region AMA will be Dolnoslaski's opponents for the European amateur title on Tuesday in Sliven.
Early strike
It took only four minutes for Dolnoslaski to break the deadlock. In a swift surge forward Łukasz Ochmański headed on from midfield and Piech ran on to the ball and finished calmly past Luis Santos in the Aveiro goal. The Portuguese side almost responded immediately, but Samer Batista turned a Luis Rodrigues free-kick just wide. On 16 minutes Ochmański's game ended early as he limped off to be replaced by Szymon Jaskulowski.
Aveiro reshuffle
Fabio Silva forced a fingertip save from Krzysztof Czerniak but Aveiro had a let off when Mariusz Sadowski beat the offside trap but rolled his shot agonisingly wide. Dosnoslaski were proving equal to Aveiro efforts and Portuguese coach José Sá decided to make a first-half double substitution, introducing Jonathan Ribeiro and the scorer of the two goals in the win against Ivan Odessa AMA on Friday, Javier Santos. After the break Sá also threw on Nelson Rato.
Scores level
The second half was barely begun when Jaskulowski was sent clear but Luis Santos saved. Czerniak also pulled off a fine shot to the clear frustration of Andre Cardoso and Santos volleyed just over. Midway through the half, however, Aveiro were level as Rodrigues laid off and Bastos struck a ferocious shot from the right into the opposite side-netting. Dolnoslaski were now under pressure, but the reliable Czerniak was on hand again to tip over a smart Batista shot and the Polish team held on, though Dariusz Zalewski was booked for timewasting and will miss the final.
