Højbjerg and Olsen give Denmark credit
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Article summary
Goalscorer Pierre Højbjerg and boss Morten Olsen gave Denmark credit for a gutsy comeback against Armenia, whose coach Bernard Challandes was left deflated.
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• Denmark goalscorer Pierre Højbjerg relieved to win opener
• Coach Morten Olsen credits victory to his side's "good mentality"
• Armenia boss Bernard Challandes bemoans Henrikh Mkhitaryan injury
Pierre Højbjerg, Denmark midfielder
For sure it is good to begin well and to have a good start to the European Qualifiers. We had some problems initially, but I think after they scored the goal we had no other possibilities than to just go for broke, and we scored two good goals and now we stand here with three points.
It is strange because we had the ball all the time and suddenly one shot and it's in. As things stood, it was a really bad result. From there we played well and we showed a good mentality, which is important also to show the other teams in the group that we are a good side.
Morten Olsen, Denmark coach
It's not [just a relief to avenge the 4-0 defeat by the same opponents last year] – it's also about the first game [of the campaign]. I think the opening matches all over Europe are very, very hard games because everybody is starting from scratch and everybody thinks this must be the year they can qualify, so it is very, very tough.
A couple of our players were not 100% today, I think, but they had a good mentality and if the ball is not running as you want to, it is very important that you show the right mentality.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenia midfielder
Maybe I could say that I'm not satisfied. We lost 2-1 and we could have won or drawn, but that's football. After my goal, it was a more open game and it seemed we had chances to score but, in the end, Denmark scored twice.
Bernard Challandes, Armenia coach
We played a good match and succeeded in staying organised against a team that is very strong in passing terms. We kept them quiet and managed to score, but then Henrikh Mkhitaryan picked up an injury which meant we struggled to keep possession. Just before his injury, Henrikh had a chance to make it 2-0. I do not think we have a problem with our fitness. The Danish substitutions made it difficult for us and changed the match.