UEFA European Futsal Championship – Dróth double not enough to keep Hungary in Euros

Two goals from Zoltán Dróth and a further strike from János Trencsényi exemplified Hungary’s fighting spirit against Ukraine in the crucial second of their UEFA European Futsal Championship group-stage matches tonight, but they weren’t enough to repel an aggressive, counter-attacking opponent which eventually prevailed by a score of six goals to three, the mlsz.hu reported.

Having lost 5-2 to the world’s number one ranked team Spain in the first of their two group matches on Tuesday, Hungary knew they had to at least draw against tonight’s opponents in order to stay in the competition, but the scale of this task became apparent when they went a goal down early on, Dmytro Sorokin seizing posssession in the Hungary area and dispatching the ball confidently into the net. Sito Rivera’s team did well to withstand some Ukraine pressure before exerting some of their own, but Ádám Hosszú’s fierce effort was well dealt with by Ukraine goalkeeper Ivanyak.

According to mlsz.hu, the second Ukraine goal followed, Dmytro Bondar controlling and turning neatly before dinking the ball in, but Hungary struck back almost straightaway, Szabolcs Szeghy setting up Zoltán Dróth for his third goal of the tournament. Thereafter, Hungary had their fair share of possession, although their opponents were fair more aggressive in front of goal, Ukraine have 39 shots (13 on target) to Hungary’s 14 (four on target).

This statistic told in the 25th minute when Denys Ovsyannikov scored after good work by Bondar but Hungary weren’t going to give up just yet. János Rábl hit the woodwork and Hosszú fired wide after an excellent team move as they sought a way back into the game. That lifeline came in the 30th minute courtesy of captain János Trencsényi who was first to a rebound from Dróth’s shot, but less than half a minute later Mykola Grytsyna restored the two-goal lead.

Undeterred, Hungary fought back against and Dróth converted Hosszú’s pass of the same nature (the word ‘hosszú’ means ‘long’ in Hungarian) to reduce arrears once more. Alas, Ukraine again exerted their superiority in an almost instant fashion, Bondar turning in Sehiy Zhurba’s cross and soon after the game was effectively over, Yevgen Valenko tucking away a shot from a corner to make it 6-3 and ensure Ukraine’s (and Spain’s) passage to the knockout stages at the expense of Hungary.

Source: mlsz.hu