A defeat is always just a defeat. Moldova – Greece 3:0

The above mentioned match didn't bring the expected results. The Piraes Stadium, which comprises 35.000 seats wasn't even half full. It is obvious that this match wasn't attractive for the Greek football fans.

The Helens' goals were gorgeous, and our game didn't impress too much. The home team didn't play with maximum vigor and interest, maybe because the opponents are outsiders, who were defeated twice at home.

Otto Rehhagel, Greece head coach:
- Moldova is not an opponent you should be afraid of. Anyway, you always have to take care in such games. Nobody was thinking that Luxemburg can come over Switzerland.

There were around 20 Moldavian supporters, who tried to encourage our players, but were not too much to be heard. They were even given a lot of flags by the MFF.

From the very beginning the Moldavian footballers had some good opportunities to open the score. First was Cebotari' shot, from a distance of almost 14 m. Tagarlas also tried to reach the opponenets' post, but, unfortunately without success.

Charisteas was the one to open the score in the middle of the first half, when he managed to win Calancea. The second goal, scored in our post by Katsouranis was a rare beauty. He got a good shot from 30 m and transformed it easily into a goal. The second half was quieter, but by the end of the match Angelos Charisteas managed his second goal and determined the final result. Our player Sergiu Alexeev was injured. Finally, our national team was defeated for the third time in this preliminary campaign.

An unpleasant incident followed the match. The translator who had to work with the head coach Dobrovolski made some mistakes. "Dobrik" helped her to calm down ant to monitor her speech.

Igor Dobrovolski, Moldova head coach:
- We made some intolerable mistakes during the match. This is the main reason for our defeat. We were not afraid of the opponents and they did not surprise us. We have to be afraid of ourselves.

Otto Rehhagel, Greece head coach:
- I am satisfied with the result. We are just realizing our plan. We have gained the maximum amount of points after the first three matches. The players got more passive after they had scored the last goal. I hope this thing will not happen again.

Nicolaie Calancea, goalkeeper:
- We have done a quite good game. If there hadn't been so many mistakes in defense, we would not get three goals today. We failed to focus adequately. A victory against Luxembourg would be of much help.
- What would you like to say to the fans that didn't have the chance to watch this game?
- I want to say that we are sorry for such a result. We have to play much better with Luxembourg.

Alexandru Epureanu, full back player:
- Our results are very weak. The two goals we were scored are only because of our own mistakes. I have noticed that we do not trust ourselves enough. We have to obtain a victory as soon as possible.

Radu Rebeja, midfielder, the captain of the National Team:
- Our weak point is the defense. We have expected a more successful start in this preliminary campaign. It is very hard to get a good result, and it is more difficult to keep in track with it. Finally, we have to gain our first points.

Pavel Cebanu, MFF President:
- We had suffered an absolute loss. And I can say that we didn't deserve it, because our game wasn't so poor. We just were not lucky. We lost all the three matches since the beginning of this preliminary campaign. The team passes through a difficult stage. We have to trust the players and the coach stuff as well.
- Have you expected to stay goalless after three matches?
- Nobody has thought of such a weak start. The first two matches were played at home and now it is difficult to say if we are to beat Luxembourg or not. We are not as lucky as our opponents are. Also we had lost some important footballers that now are not able to play for the national team.
- Do you still believe in a victory before the game with Luxembourg?
- If we prove a worthy game as in the match with Greece we can expect a good result. I have carefully observed the playing of this team and I can say for sure that it has greatly improved. The victory with Switzerland is also to be taken into consideration.
The National Team has showed that it can play football and the successful results are not long to be expected. We are curious how the Helens will perform as a guest team.

Instead of the final

The match was impatiently expected. The footballers knew that the Helens turned up the results in the previous games only by the end of the match. We were expecting a better performance, because of the victories we managed to obtain the last autumn. We are now at the third consecutive defeat.

Now, because the team faces a difficult period, it is the most appropriate moment to be united. The footballers do not have to be criticized. We just have to be patient. Only if we are united we will succeed! We have to support the team every time, when it wins and it is defeated, just like a true fan does.