SATURDAY - Finland 2 Liechtenstein 1 (UEFA World Cup Qualification Group 4)

Finland get salutary reminder that "there are no easy games"

Stuart Baxter

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By William Moore
     
      Without winning any points for style, Finland's footballers did the minimum required of them on Saturday and came through a potential banana-skin encounter with tiny Liechtenstein, winning 2-1 after conceding a soft early goal.
      Mikael Forssell pulled the Finns back on level terms after half an hour, and Jonatan Johansson produced a crisp strike in the 71st minute to send the fans home happy, if not altogether confident about the next home game, against EURO 2008 semi-finalists Russia on Wednesday.
      It would be unfair to say that the visitors put nine men behind the ball and defended doggedly, albeit that they were not overly adventurous, either. They played just as well as their limited resources allowed, and they gave Finland no free ride.
     
On a cool but mercifully dry evening, and in front of a crowd of around 20,000, the Finns set off brightly, with Alexei Eremenko Jr. being given a good deal of room in a wide position on the left. Much of the best work in the opening minutes was done by him, and he twice fed Forssell in front of goal, but the striker got tangled with his feet and the goalkeeper cleaned things up.
      Liechtenstein did not camp out in their own half, but showed a certain amount of early enterprise going forward, and they issued a warning after ten minutes when Martin Büchel forced a smart save out of Jussi Jäskeläinen down by his near post.
     
This warning went unheeded, and three minutes later the visitors were in front through a mixture of calamitously lax defending and an astute pass to find Mario Frick free in front of goal.
      Frick made no mistake, and scored Liechtenstein's first goal of the qualifiers - thus far they had conceded 13 times without reply in five games, including a 6-0 drubbing at home to Germany.
     
Letting in an early goal was precisely what coach Stuart Baxter had not wanted - this was supposed to be a game in which matters were wrapped up in short order so that players could be taken off and rested for next week.
      Now the Finns had to play catch-up. They passed the ball around attractively enough, but the visitors kept their defensive shape and did not look overly troubled, especially as Forssell, who is clearly suffering from a loss of confidence (almost the most disastrous fate that can befall a striker), contrived to miss a couple more chances.
     
Forssell's cause was not helped by the fact that he was all too often left on his own, and had to cope with a heavy overcoat from two Liechtenstein defenders most of the time.
      On the plus side, both Eremenko Jr. and Johansson were busy on the flanks, and the back four under captain Sami Hyypiä tightened up considerably after their early lapse.
      Eventually the combination with Eremenko paid dividends, as the Russian-born midfielder once again ploughed forward down the left, nutmegged one defender and slid over an inviting cross. Forssell got just enough on it at the near post to steer it into the goal.
     
The relief was palpable. Finland should by rights have gone in ahead at half-time, but when he was free on goal on the left-hand edge of the box Jari Litmanen inexplicably picked out Forssell and just overhit his pass.
      Baxter chose not to give his side a roasting at the interval, preferring instead to focus on the positives. Still, there was no immediate response, and the fans had to wait and hope.
      To their credit, they redoubled the volume.
      It's almost pleasant to be in the stadium these days, as the Finnish Supporters' Club crowd on the North Bank are improving by leaps and bounds. The meeting with Russia should have a really great atmosphere.
     
Petri Pasanen was replaced at half-time by Veli Lampi in the right-back spot.
      Pasanen had picked up a knock earlier, but it has to be said he was also responsible for setting up Frick's goal.
      Roman Eremenko brought an excellent save from Peter Jehle after 50 minutes, but although Forssell got to the rebound first, Roman's brother Alexei saw his follow-up effort comfortably dealt with.
     
The Finnish blushes were spared only 20 minutes from time, but the goal was worth waiting for.
      Roman Eremenko found Jonatan Johansson with loads of space on the right-hand edge of the penalty area, and the Hibernian striker finished well for his 20th goal in a Finnish shirt, prompting some to wonder if the Welsh skipper Craig Bellamy - whose scathing views on Johansson's ability to score were made public after Finland's win in Cardiff in March - ought really to have been watching.
      Shortly before the goal, Teemu Tainio went off in favour of Markus Heikkinen, and immediately after Johansson had scored, Jari Litmanen departed to rousing applause that was probably as much for his career to date as for the 70-odd minutes he played. It was not really a vintage Litti performance.
     
Almost the biggest cheer of the night greeted the arrival of the ever-popular Shefki Kuqi, who did inject some oomph up front.
      However, Kuqi's famous lack of a gossamer touch on the ball meant that he didn't get on the scoresheet, although he did come quite close after a splendid run down the left in which opposing players went down like nine-pins before him.
      Over the last quarter of an hour, the Finns looked much more like scoring a third than conceding a second goal, and they ran out fairly comfortable - and grateful - winners in the end.
     
There was worrying news on the injury front, although the game as such was free from any obvious dirty play.
      Pasanen has a dead leg, Tainio is unlikely to be available for Wednesday, Litmanen aggravated a groin strain, Kuqi may have pulled a muscle, and even Johansson has some niggling problem.
      The medical staff will have to get to work, as Finland cannot afford to lose too many men for Wednesday.
     
Coach Baxter had warned that the game against Liechtenstein would not be easy, but he welcomed the points and the way the team had worked hard after making life difficult for themselves.
      He quite rightly singled out Alexei Eremenko's strong all-round showing: the midfielder made a re-appearance in the side against Wales after a 10-month absence, and he is now back to his best, even though Baxter admitted that some of his dribbling runs do bring on heart palpitations - he loves to have the ball at his feet, and one doesn't know quite what will happen behind him if he loses it. Against a side of Russia's calibre, it could be fatal.
     
Guus Hiddink's team, who gave Finland a hard time of it in Moscow when they won 3-0 last October, will provide a very stern test on Wednesday, although the nature of modern international football is well demonstrated by the fact that Russia, too, struggled to break down Liechtenstein and could only beat them 1-0 in April.
      Needless to say, the Olympic Stadium will be full for the encounter, and it is likely to be a highly-charged evening.
     
Russia have 12 points from their five games, with the sole blemish being a 2-1 defeat away to group leaders Germany (16 points from six games).
      The Finns have ten points from their five games so far, and Wales moved on to nine points from seven games with a 1-0 win on Saturday against Azerbaijan in Baku.
      The Welsh hopes were all but completely snuffed out in March when they lost at home to Finland and Germany in quick succession.
      Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein each have a single point from their goalless draw in Baku.
      Only the group winner - the smart money says Germany in this case - will qualify automatically, and the eight best runners-up from nine UEFA groups will play off for four more places in South Africa.
     

Finland: Jussi Jääskeläinen; Petri Pasanen (45. Veli Lampi), Hannu Tihinen, Sami Hyypiä (captain), Toni Kallio; Jonatan Johansson, Roman Eremenko, Teemu Tainio (67. Markus Heikkinen), Alexei Eremenko Jr; Jari Litmanen (72. Shefki Kuqi); Mikael Forssell.
Substitutes not used: Otto Fredrikson, Joonas Kolkka, Niklas Moisander, Daniel Sjölund.
Coach: Stuart Baxter.
     
Liechtenstein: Peter Jehle; Franz-Josef Vogt (66. Raphael Rohrer, 88. booked), Martin Stocklasa, Michael Stocklasa, Franz Burgmeier; Marco Ritzberger, Martin Büchel (58. Mathias Christen), Ronny Büchel (76. Stefan Büchel), Beni Fischer; Michele Polverino (38. booked), Mario Frick (captain).
Substitutes not used: Cengiz Bicer, Roger Beck.
Coach: Hans-Peter Zaugg.
     
Goals: Frick, 13. (0-1); Forssell, 33. (1-1); Johansson, 71. (2-1).
     
Referee: Libor Kovarik (Czech Republic).
     
Attendance: 20,319
     
Weather: Overcast but dry, a balmy (!) 10°C.
     
Next match: vs. Russia, Helsinki Olympic Stadium, 10.6.2009, kick-off 20:30.

More on this subject:
 Finland take on Liechtenstein in first of two World Cup qualifiers

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Big Russian contingent anticipated for World Cup qualifier in Helsinki (2.6.2009)

Links:
  FIFA, World Cup 2010 European Qualifying Group 4
  Finnish National Team Supporters´ Association (in Finnish)
  Finland National Team (Wikipedia)

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