Big heart, but big mistakes: Czech Republic 4 Finland 3 (UEFA World Cup Qualifying Group 1)

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By William Moore
     
      Finland's national football team came within a reflex save of grabbing an unlikely three points from a ding-dong match with the Czech Republic in Teplice on Saturday evening.
      However, Peter Cech in the home team's goal pulled off a remarkable one-handed save from Shefki Kuqi's header, the Czechs scampered upfield on the break, and within seconds they scored the goal that sent the Finns home with nothing but "what ifs".
      Such is life and football.
     
The Finns probably have only themselves to blame. They did nearly everything in the first half to ensure that they had a mountain to climb, conceding two soft goals to one of Europe's best sides.
      After only six minutes, Joonas Kolkka was caught cold in possession on the edge of the box, and Tomas Rosicky's neat cross from the byline was turned in by Milan Baros, who had slipped away from his Liverpool team-mate Sami Hyypiä.
      Things got appreciably worse when the Czechs went two up after half an hour. A mix-up in the Finnish defence and some slow reactions from goalkeeper Jussi Jääskeläinen allowed Rosicky's free-kick from around 30 yards to bypass everyone and sneak into the bottom-right-hand corner of the net.
      It was not as if the Finns had been really under the cosh at any time in the first half, or that they had not created chances of their own. Aki Riihilahti forced a decent save out of Peter Cech from a header, Kuqi shot narrowly wide after the keeper fumbled a high ball while being challenged, and Kolkka was through free on goal but scuffed his shot meekly into Cech's arms.
     
Chastened by the lapses that put them behind, and showing considerable determination, the Finns then struck back in the opening minute of the second half, when captain Jari Litmanen got on the end of a sharp cross from Aki Riihilahti and volleyed the ball home. It was Litmanen's 25th goal in a Finland shirt and it came at just the right moment.
      The visitors then began to exert some real pressure, only to succumb to another sucker punch ten minutes later as Rosicky got the better of Peter Kopteff on the right, broke through unopposed into the area, and laid on the simplest of chances for Jan Polák to tap home. The Finnish ranks were in disarray following a corner of their own, and they were caught on the break.
      Kopteff had a torrid time of it on Saturday, but Rosicky is a class act, and the left-back was ultimately no more to blame for the goals than others in the Finnish defence.
     
In any event, this setback did nothing to dent Finnish morale or work-ethic, and after 73 minutes they had claimed a second goal. Hyypiä's powerful header from a corner was touched on by Riihilahti, with Cech and a defender in close but vain attendance on the goal-line.
      Another six minutes later and Jonatan Johansson - who had come on to replace the tiring Litmanen - made a smart interception in the centre circle and galloped down Route One towards goal, before beating Cech with a low shot. 3-3 and very much "game on", with only just over ten minutes remaining.
      The Finnish side showed no signs of being content with a draw, but pushed forward, and after Johansson got away from his marker his cross from the left was met firmly by Shefki Kuqi. In another world, Kuqi would have scored a classic last-ditch winner and the headlines would have been about "Plucky Finns stage stunning comeback to upset European Championship finalists".
     
But Peter Cech made the save, and the hosts broke down the left as the Finns desperately back-pedalled once more. Jaroslav Plasil  sent over a long ball, and a smart dummy at the edge of the area took out Hyypiä and left Vratislav Lokvenc with time and space to hammer the ball past Jääskeläinen's left hand for 4-3 with only a few minutes left on the clock.
     
The defeat naturally left coach Antti Muurinen and the entire Finnish squad gutted, although there was much to admire in the second-half fight that they put up. The Czechs are currently ranked 4th in the world, after all, and they were made to sweat. 
      But you cannot give an inch to a professional side like that, and when a team scores three and concedes four, even if it makes for great entertainment, something is seriously wrong.
     
The Finnish 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign is now at the half-way stage, and Finland have 9 points from three wins and three defeats.
      On the plus side, the Finns have home fixtures against all the major contenders in their group - The Netherlands, Romania, and the Czech Republic - still to come this summer and autumn. Finland have not lost at home in a World Cup qualifier since August 1997.
     
They could therefore seriously dent  somebody else's chances of qualifying. But since their points so far have come only from defeating the minnows of Armenia (twice) and Andorra, it will require a remarkable run of famous victories and some favourable results in other games for the Finns to have a hope of even taking second spot in the table.
      The Netherlands did their chances no harm by winning 2-0 in Bucharest at the weekend, and they lead Group One with 13 points from five matches. The only Dutch blemish so far was a 2-2 draw away to F.Y.R. Macedonia. Finland would do well not to underestimate their own visit to Skopje in August.
      But for that match to mean anything, first they must overcome Holland at home in June. And giving the Dutch a two-goal start is NOT recommended. Muurinen will be hoping that he can call on the services of Mikael Forssell, Teemu Tainio, Mika Väyrynen, and keeper Antti Niemi in the next encounter. All were injured or short of match-fitness for the Czech game.


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