Moldova record rare win against Finland
Reuters - Friday 03 September 2010, 20:52
CHISINAU - Alexander Suvorov and Anatolie
Doros scored second half goals in the space of six minutes to
lift Moldova to a surprise 2-0 victory over Finland in a Euro
2012 Group E qualifier on Friday.
Suvorov, who came on for Nicolae Josan in the 58th minute,
scored from a free-kick in the 69th minute of the first match
between the two nations in nearly 12 years.
Doros's long-range goal in the 74th minute secured Moldova
their first win in a competitive match in nearly three years.
Finland captain Sami Hyypia was sent off in the 36th minute
for fouling Viorel Frunze when he had a clear goal scoring
opportunity.
"We played to win from the beginning and our tactics
worked," Moldova coach Gavril Balint said. "We deserved the
victory."
Finland coach Stuart Baxter said the game "changed
completely" after Hyypia's dismissal "and the team was unable to
regroup."
Midfielder Roman Eremenko added: "We wanted to win but the
loss should not be treated as a tragedy. There are plenty of
matches to come."
One of the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova had not won
a competitive match since a 3-0 victory over Hungary in November
2007.
Moldova will be eager to keep up their winning run against
Hungary in their next qualifier on Tuesday, while Finland will
be hoping to put up a better performance when they travel to the
Netherlands to face the World Cup runners-up.
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