Kairat recovery overwhelms Morlanwelz

Kazakhstan champions Kairat Almaty came from behind to brush aside Cristal Noir MB Morlanwelz in their concluding UEFA Futsal Cup second qualifying round Group A fixture in Lisbon - and two hours later learned that they were through to the semi-finals.

Comeback win
Aluízio broke the deadlock on seven minutes after Morlanwelz had soaked up some early pressure, but two strikes right before half-time from Aleksandr Terentyev and a Roberto own goal, saw Kairat go into the interval with a deserved advantage. Etienne, Cacau and Neto then scored three unanswered second-half goals and the Kazakh side progressed to a two legged encounter with MFK Dinamo Moskva in March after group winners Boomerang Interviú defeated SL Benfica 4-2 in the night's later fixture.

Aluízio opener
Kairat knew victory would leave them favourites to reach the last four and they clearly started with this in mind as they took the game to Morlanwelz from the kick-off. Etienne looked particularly threatening, and clipped the post with a fierce effort early on, but it was Aluízio who opened the scoring when he applied the finishing touch to a flowing counterattack, firing a powerful shot into the top corner.

Defensive blunders
Kairat quickly regained the initiative, however, and Neto, Yuriy Butrin and Terentyev all went close before they equalised in fortuitous fashion when Cacau's right-sided corner was headed into his own net by Roberto, just two minutes before the interval. Within 60 seconds a defensive error allowed Terentyev to complete the turnaround and from then on Kairat did not look back as they restricted the Belgium outfit to hopeful long shots.

One-sided scoreline
Gustavo was in fine fettle though and never looked like being beaten before Etienne gave the Kazakh side a two-goal cushion with 14 minutes remaining. Cacau made it 4-1 on 35 minutes before Neto completed an emphatic win in added time.