Finland 'character' delights Paatelainen

• Finland coach Mixu Paatelainen praises his side for their response to falling behind
• Niklas Moisander hails an "an important win to begin the campaign"
• Hallur Hansson rues the Faroes' defending – Finland's goals "were far too easy"

Mixu Paatelainen, Finland coach
The players showed character and they deserve credit for that. We went 1-0 down and the Faroe Islands defended very aggressively. We did not give up and in the end we got the goals we needed. We knew it would not be an easy task and it did not turn out to be, but we can be pleased with the three points.

Riku [Riski] took a similar role [to Kasper Hämäläinen, who sustained a thigh injury in the warm-up], they are similar players. He scored two important goals and was dangerous throughout. It shows that we have depth in the squad and choosing the starting lineup is not an easy task nowadays.

Niklas Moisander, Finland captain
We played OK in the first half, but a big mistake from myself gave the lead to the Faroe Islands. Thankfully we equalised early in the second half and then got two more goals. It was a strong comeback from us and this was an important win to begin the qualification campaign with.

Riku Riski, Finland forward
I was twice in the right place at the right time and of course the goals taste good. However, the most important thing was to win. We had our chances in the first half, but were forced to win the hard way. It feels good now and the three points were important. We can now look ahead confidently, though our next games [Greece and Romania] will probably be somewhat different.

Lars Olsen, Faroe Islands coach
The result maybe says it all, but we had a good 20 minutes at the end of the first half. We controlled the ball then and managed to go 1-0 up. My players were tired at the end and their concentration started to wane.

Hallur Hansson, Faroe Islands midfielder
I need some time to make sense of the result, but I'm extremely disappointed. There you see the difference between men and boys. We played pretty well. They had more of the possession, but the goals they scored were far too easy − that must not happen. To get a point at this level, that must not happen.

Christian Holst, Faroe Islands forward
It would have been awesome had we won, but there was a long time to go [after my opening goal] – and so it proved. But I dreamed about it, of course I did. Finland are a good side, somewhat better than those mid-level teams we have previously played. They play well and have some dangerous and mobile men up front.

Odmar Faerø, Faroe Islands defender
Although we were leading 1-0 at half-time, we were way behind on possession. The best way to avoid coming under pressure is to try to play and to keep hold of the ball in order to rest instead of having to chase them all the time. That made us very tired and that was why they scored at the end. This is probably the strongest squad I have been part of, and I believe we will collect a few points.