Split keep another clean sheet

Sporting Club de Portugal were denied by some magnificent defending as MNK Split 1700 made it 80 minutes without conceding a goal in the UEFA Futsal Cup with a 0-0 draw.

Noisy crowd
Hosts Sporting, cheered on by a noisy crowd in Lisbon on Tuesday, possessed the greater attacking ability but were matched by a well-organised Split rearguard that defended deep. Bibi, Sporting's two-goal hero from their opening Group A victory against MNK Kaskada Gracanica, was denied on several
occasions by frantic blocks and the agility of Aljosa Stanicic in the Croatian team's goal. João Miguel did have the ball in the net for Sporting with a powerful indirect free-kick just before the interval. However it was ruled out as the ball did not touch another player on its way to the net.

Stankovic pleased
Split, who beat AS Roma in their first match, soaked up everything Sporting could throw at them, and their celebrations at the final whistle underlined how delighted they were with the point. Coach Mato Stankovic admitted his team were "very lucky" but also acknowledged the disciplined performance of his team. "We played different to how we play in our own league," he said. "There we are the strongest team and our opponents are defending deep but today we had to play that way against a good side."

Lack of success
Carlos Alberto Aranha, the Sporting coach, was full of praise for his players' efforts despite their lack of success in front of goal. He pointed out that his side had created a far greater number of chances than their rivals. "We knew that they were very good in defence but we have not had a lot of luck. Our goal was to win the game but it was not possible." Both teams now have four points, while Roma have three and Gracanica have none going into the final Group A matches on Thursday.