Isloch first through to Regions' Cup finals
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
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Belarusian team FC Isloch can pencil next summer's UEFA Regions' Cup finals into their diary after becoming the first side to qualify for Europe's premier amateur tournament.
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FC Isloch earned a 1-0 win against Central Slovakia to become the first team to qualify for the 2013 UEFA Regions' Cup final tournament.
After Aleksandr Pratskevich's double helped Isloch to an opening-day victory over Paris Ile de France (2-0) and an Aleksei Rudenok effort sank Zaves Tuzlanskog (2-1) in their second match, the intermediary Group 1 hosts required only a draw from their final fixture to progress.
With defences on top, a stalemate looked on the cards, but an excellent long-range strike by Yuri Pustokhod with four minutes remaining took the Belarusian outfit through in style with a 100% record. Paris Ile de France finished second after drawing 2-2 with Bosnian side Savez Tuzlanskog.
"It was a well-deserved win for the boys," said Isloch coach Vitali Zhukouski. "They played very well in the last match and deserved to go through. The team did well and had the desire to win. You do not get three wins for nothing, only through hard work."