Futsal Champions League: Tallinn's Bunker Partner opens Yerevan tournament with a loss
Estonian futsal champions Bunker Partner lost 1:5 to hosts Unisport in their opening match of the UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary round in Yerevan. The team will next face German champions Weilimdorf.
Estonia's reigning futsal champion, Tallinn-based Bunker Partner, began its campaign in the UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary round in Yerevan with a defeat, losing 1:5 to the host club Unisport in the opening round of Group E matches.
The Armenian side, coached by Latvian specialist Aleksandrs Dibrivnijs — well known for his work in Estonia — took command early. Garegin Mashumyan scored just 24 seconds into the match, and Artur Melkonyan doubled the hosts' lead in the 8th minute.
Unisport kept dictating the pace in the second half. In the 22nd minute, Rafik Melikyan converted a rebound after the ball struck the frame of the goal, and two minutes later naturalized Brazilian Vitinho made it 4:0. Tallinn managed a consolation goal in the 29th minute, as Ervin Stjuff scored from a pass by goalkeeper Marek Boskin. Unisport defender Mamikon Dermendzhyan set the final score in the 37th minute.
Group E also features German champions Weilimdorf and Iceland's Reykjavik. In the tournament's other opening match, the German side thrashed the Icelandic club 13:1.
Bunker Partner will play its next match on August 27 against Weilimdorf.
