Bright first-half counts for little, as Bethnal Green-based club fall short

The FA Futsal Cup journey for Bethnal Green’s Warriors is over despite a valiant effort against Durham recently.

After coming out on top at the regional finals in Birmingham back in February, the dream ended for the east London club last month.

Having brilliantly defeated Chiswick 12-5 in the first round, Warriors were full of confidence ahead of playing at East Durham College.

Douglas Mattos Da Silva, fresh from his five goals against Chiswick, was one of many players raring to go against Durham.

The hosts made a bright start and took the lead after two minutes, but the Warriors fought back well.

Samuka Pereira tapped in from close range to level the scores before Mattos Da Silva rounded Durham’s goalkeeper to make it 2-1.

After a manic opening five-minute period, the game settled down, but with the Warriors on top.

Durham’s goalkeeper initially prevented the east Londoners adding to their tally, but soon had to pick the ball out of his net again.

Pereira played a neat one-two with a team-mate before firing in to make it 3-1 at half time.

The hosts finished the first-half strongly and built up more momentum straight after the restart.

Durham quickly reduced the deficit and never looked back, as they scored six times to claim a 7-3 win.

Warriors head coach Maikel De Quadros was gracious in defeat, he said: “We would like to congratulate Durham.

“They are a very capable team with young talented players who deserve a lot of credit and they also have a impressive system.

“We want to wish them good luck and we hope to play them again in the near future. Overall we are very happy with the opportunity we were given to participate in the FA Futsal Cup.

“It’s been an amazing experience to compete with some of the best team in England, it was our first time taking part in the competition and we have learned a lot from it.

“A big thanks to all teams and players we played against. We wish you all the best of luck, thanks to all the fans and supporters.”

Warriors squad: “Anderson Dionizio, Ediel Oliveira, Flavio Santos Tavares, Samuka Pereira, Hugo Leonardo Condez, Fabricio Novais, Douglas Mattos Da Silva, Gladson Cardoso De Freitas, Justino Freza, Bruno Freza, Pedro Ferreira De Carvalho, Rodrigo Schmidt Teixeira, Cesar Rodrigo Da Silva Dourado, Ederson Tomasoni, Welcom Cardoso De Almeida, Luciano Di Lorenzi.