Articles

ESTONIA – FINLAND 1:1 (0:0)

January 7th, 2016, St. Petersburg, Peterburgsky SCC, 150 spectators

Best players: Kaspar Mutso, Niilo Maenpaa

Post match comments

Marko Lelov, Head coach of team Estonia:

– Today's game was the one of equal opportunities. Surely we planned to play for a win today. And we even converted a scoring moment. But unfortunately we conceded a goal quite quickly after. In the whole, I am satisfied with the pattern of the game: I saw that my guys are ready to fight. Finland is our neighbor and we always have a harsh battle in matches against them.

– Did you make substitutions because of the opponent's actions or the physical conditions of your players?

– We were doing everything to win this match. In the second half I let two forwards on the pitch because we knew the Finns were playing second day in a row, and we counted on that they were tired and could make mistakes. But the opponents also made substitutions and put the players of their first team. So we also lost a lot of energy and had to go closer to our goal area, especially by the end of the match.

– Am I right that you start all the games at this tournament with your first team?

– Actually I don't. During the tournament we try to give practice to all the players who came here. I'd like to stress it. We make rotations, because we have games once in two days or every day. We should give equal load to the players and offer them time for rest to recover. We look at this tournament also as a preparation, or a camp. I want my players to come back from here alive and well, so that there would not be any pretensions from the clubs they play in.

– Today the best player in your team is your captain. How do they choose him in the team?

– Right, Kaspar Mutso is our captain, but the team didn't choose him. He was appointed by the coaches.

Alexei Eremenko, Head coach of team Finland:

– I have a low voice after the game yesterday. And my players did not do well today either. We started in the experimental lineup. I gave the team leaders some time to rest and decided to take a look at other players on different positions. As a result, we were good at some moments but we lost integrity. After that I returned to the previous lineup throwing our main players on the pitch. And, of course, the picture of the match changed. We conceded an unnecessary goal though, but I am happy we managed to come back at once. In conclusion, there were both positive and negative moments about the match.

– Could you elaborate more on the negative moments?

– Well, I did not like our central backs today. We made many mistakes, had our heads down. We were silent and did not help each other on pitch with words.

– There was a penalty kick in the game, but your team did not score. Was the player your usual penalty kicker?

– Do you mean Rantanen? It was me who told him to take the penalty kick. It was in the dressing room before the game. He has a good shot and strong psychology. But he did not manage. It happens.

– Do you see a connection between the substitutions and the goals, both conceded and scored?

– If you analyze the situation with the conceded goal and the way it was developing, then I definitely don't see a connection. There was a standard situation, a direct kick, not in play. Once again there was no interaction between our central backs – one missed the ball and the other bowed his head. As for the goal we scored then I would agree with you, it's a consequence of substitutions. Fresh players went on the pitch – Soisalo and Maenpaa, our leaders. I let them have rest on purpose. We are having a difficult game with Russia.

– Are you acquainted with Galaktionov, the head coach of team Russia?

– No yet. Our paths did not cross. We have the age difference like a father and a son. My own son is older than him.

– Are you always positive? Is there anything that can make you mad?

– Of course, there is. I have been knocking on the bench the entire match today. I wish I had my voice back. I was furious about some moves that Oskar Sandstrom made. He's my player who is playing for the club I am coaching. I was angry about his mistake. But these are emotions. Now I have the flames down and I absolutely realize that everyone make mistakes.

#15 Estonia – Finland