Ecstatic Ekaterinburg edge past Dinamo

UEFA Futsal Cup hosts MFK Viz-Sinara Ekaterinburg will defend the trophy in the final against Interviú Madrid on Sunday after the most nerve-jangling of victories against their Russian rivals MFK Dinamo Moskva.

Late goals
For 35 of the 40 minutes, the capacity crowd at the Ekaterinburg Palace of Sport watched a passionate encounter that Dinamo could well have led, had it not been for the brilliance for home goalkeeper Sergei Zuev. Then in the space of 69 seconds, Aleksei Mokhov and Pavel Chistopolov produced two brilliant finishes to ensure Viz reached their second UEFA Futsal Cup final in as many entries.

Zuev saves
This was the seventh meeting between Russia's two dominant clubs this season, and that showed in a tight goalless first half, every move by one team anticipated by the other, not to mention a visible determination not to allow their arch-rivals any edge. Dinamo's Anatoli Badretdinov was first to threaten, denied by Zuev, and the hero of the 2008 final penalty shoot-out against ElPozo Murcia FS also saved from Cirilo.

Passion
The importance of the occasion was shown by Cirilo's reaction when he blocked an Andrey Afanasiev drive, celebrating with such vigour that he had to be temporarily withdrawn for treatment. But although there were plenty of occasions for the noisy crowd to roar their encouragement, neither Zuev nor Dinamo goalkeeper Alexey Popov looked like being beaten before the break.

Cirilo denied
Passion levels did not drop after the interval, and Zuev got down brilliantly to stop a Cirilo shot on the turn, while Afanasiev and Artem Chudinov both made Popov work. Dinamo were starting to have long spells of possession, but Ekaterinburg moved forward quickly when they got the ball and Konstantin Agapov flashed an effort across the face of goal.

Edu relief
That was the prelude to a spell of Ekaterinburg pressure, and from a Damir Khamadiyev corner, it was a mightily relieved Edu that watched his deflection ricochet away off the post. Zuev got across goal excellently to kick a Tatu shot away and from the resulting corner got down crucially at Badretdinov's feet.

Spectacular goal
Just how crucial that save was became clear with five minutes left. Konstantin Timoschenkov crossed from the Ekaterinburg left and Mokhov's acrobatic volley beat Popov. Dinamo, winners in 2007 and beaten finalists for the two years before that, were not done yet and Zuev added to his heroics in stopping an Aleksandr Fukin shot.

Clincher
But Ekaterinburg were not about to go on the defensive, and Chistopolov lashed in the most powerful of shots to double the lead. Joan received a second booking soon after, and by the time Dinamo were able to resume playing with five men, time was too short for a comeback. They now will aim to repeat their third-place play-off victory against Kairat Almaty of 12 months ago.