Beach soccer national team defeats Turkey and advances to Division A
The Estonian national beach soccer team defeated Turkey 4:3 at the Euro Beach Soccer League promotional tournament final on Sunday and advanced to the top division for next season.
Estonia did not endure a loss throughout the final promotion tournament, beating the Czech Republic 4:2, Sweden 7:1 and Moldova 4:3 in the group stage to face off against Turkey in the final.
Turkey was first to score in Sunday's final after Estonian defender Joosep Juha blocked a shot with his hand and Turkey's all-time leading scorer Baris Terzioglu was accurate on the following penalty. The Estonians responded with an equalizer at the end of the first period with Kristian Marmor scoring on a beautiful bicycle kick.
Estonia took the lead at the end of the second period after a back pass from a Turkish defender took a bounce on the sand and rolled past the team's goalkeeper, giving Estonia a 2:1 lead going into the final period.
Argo Alaväli extended Estonia's lead with a penalty on the fourth minute of the third period, but Turkey responded right away on the following kick-off and equalized the match just a minute later. The second-best goal scorer of the Division B tournament Sander Lepik scored with four minutes to go and Estonia maintained its lead to take the promotion final 4:3.
With the victory, Estonia was promoted to the top division for next year's Euro Beach Soccer League competition. Portugal was victorious in the Superfinal tournament on Sunday, defeating Belarus 7:4 in the final match of the tournament.
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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste