FRom the touchline, by jamie bosio
The Gibraltar Men's Futsal squad arrived in Bosnia with little expectations after previous tournaments but left a week later with a renewed optimism and positive signs of progression.
After a delayed journey due to conditions outside of our control, the boys adapted and recovered as best as they could before our first game against Switzerland. It was a game where we took the lead early on through Andrew Lopez. As expected, Switzerland dominated possession of the ball but we were dangerous on the counter attack. We went on to lose the game 3-1 but it was tight until the end and Switzerland were lucky that we did not take our chances when given them.
The following day we took on the hosts Bosnia, who were the favourites and as expected went on to top the group with maximum points.
It was a difficult game with fatigue clearly taking a toll after having narrowly lost to Switzerland just 24 hours earlier. However, the boys put in a credible performance, losing out 9-2. At this stage, we had already overtaken our goal scoring tally from the last competitive set of qualifying games the year before - another positive step!
With Cyprus needing a victory in the last game to qualify to the playoff stage of the Euro Qualifying phase, it was always going to be a complicated game. Though, a 4-0 defeat, much improved from the last time we played Cyprus where the score got to double digits, showed how far the team had come in the space of 12 months.
Ultimately, for me personally it was an unbelievable experience to be on the touchline as an assistant coach at an official UEFA tournament. I'm hoping to take what I've learned and apply it to the everyday workings of my club sessions with Bavaria. Most of my gratitude must go to Jose Carlos Gil for allowing me to be part of his technical team. The future looks bright for Futsal in Gibraltar. All we can do is hope that the GFA continue to fund the development of the sport as there is plenty of potential in our small community. The standard of the local Premier Division is improving and that is evident with the performances that our Gibraltarian players are putting in at these international competitions.