Romania 2 Finland 1: Finns lose opening World Cup qualifier in Bucharest

Forssell absent with stomach upset; Litmanen not fully match-fit

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Finland’s national squad opened their World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign in Bucharest on Wednesday night, knowing that a draw was really the minimum requirement if they harboured hopes of making it to Germany in two years’ time.
      After a goalless first 45 minutes, this target at least was within reach, but second-half strikes from Adrian Mutu and Florentin Petre meant that coach Antti Muurinen’s charges returned home empty-handed. A penalty put away by Alexei Eremenko with the last kick of the match provided only cold comfort, though of course it may turn out to be of value in the unlikely event that goal difference settles who qualifies from Group One.
      Finland’s slim hopes of snatching a goal from open play were hampered from the off by the absence of Mikael Forssell, the free-scoring youngster who plays for Birmingham City (though he is still on the Chelsea books). Forssell, along with defender Jari Ilola, came down with a mysterious stomach bug and both were non-starters.
     
The Finns were under the gun for long periods in the first half, as a relatively inexperienced Romanian side pushed forward in numbers. Nevertheless, the chance of a breakaway was always on, and Jonatan Johansson, the replacement up front for Forssell, could have gone clear on a couple of occasions but for the linesman’s flag for offside.
      Johansson also hit the crossbar with a header from a neat cross by Jari Litmanen, but that was as good as it got.
     
The Romanians were guilty of some flamboyant falling-over, and the Polish referee was even more guilty of pandering to this. On 50 minutes, he awarded a yellow card to central defender Sami Hyypiä for a very genteel challenge on Mutu, and the Romanian captain put away the free kick in the bottom right corner. The ball avoided the wall and bounced awkwardly for Finnish keeper Antti Niemi.
      Not long after this, the semi-fit Litmanen handed over the captain’s armband to Hyypiä and made way for Eremenko. His arrival brought a measure of enterprise to the Finnish attacks, and his presence was enough to cause the dismissal of Romania’s Cosmin Barcau after 78 minutes. Barcau brought the Finn down just outside the box when he was through on goal.
      Even with a one-man advantage, the Finns were not likely to break down the Romanian defence, and this numerical superiority was in any case lost a few minutes later as Mika Väyrynen collected his second yellow card of the night and marched off to the showers. Petre’s close range goal in the 90th minute killed off the match, and the Finnish penalty - for an apparent handball - was really only a cosmetic addition to the FIFA statistics.
     
There were catcalls from the Finnish travelling fans after the game, and loud demands for Muurinen’s head. Certainly the Finns have a mountain to climb in their group, as trips to Prague and Rotterdam against the mighty Czechs and the Dutch will be even tougher assignments than Wednesday night’s run-out in Bucharest.
      The next opposition, however, promises to be a little easier. The Finns meet footballing minnows Andorra at home on September 4th. The match will be played in Tampere as the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki is undergoing repairs for the 2005 IAAF World Championships.


Links:
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