Roma make up for lost time

AS Roma scored their first goals of the UEFA Futsal Cup in an emphatic 10-2 victory over MNK Kaskada Gracanica on Tuesday.

Strong fightback
Roma actually fell a goal behind early on to an excellent strike from Ferik Dizdarevic following a neat one-two with Ramiz Ramic, but they came back strongly to give themselves a great chance of qualifying for the semi-finals from Group A.

Impressive keeper
The crucial equaliser came from Mirko Antonazzi, after he smashed a Massimo Riscino cross into the corner beyond Edib Hodzic in the Gracanica goal. Hodzic, in fact, was impressive throughout, despite the emphatic nature of the scoreline.

Unhappy with penalty
From then on there was only one team in the contest. Gracanica felt hard done by after a penalty was given for a foul on Junior, which Fabio Cesar Previdelli converted to give Roma the lead for the first time. Then Antonazzi, Marco Angelini and Luca Marchetti all scored two goals apiece. Indeed, Angelini's two goals came in a ten-second spell in the 29th minute.

'Much better'
It was a stylish performance from the Italian side, who now face Sporting Clube de Portugal in their last group match on Thursday. Piero Gialli, the Roma coach, was much happier with his team after their defeat by MNK Split 1700 in the opening game. "For this match we were much better," he said. "We will see how the players can recover physically for the Sporting game. It will certainly be a good game and we have to win."