Starkovs revels in famous success

'Historic win'
"This is a historic win, a great success for our nation," said a jubilant Starkovs after goals from Jurijs Laizans and Maris Verpakovskis booked Latvia's place in UEFA EURO 2004™ in Portugal next summer. "I believe this will be a big sensation across Europe."

Solid defensive display
The visitors produced a battling defensive display to frustrate the hosts, who were restricted to few genuine goalscoring opportunities. The Latvia coach praised his goalkeeper and defenders, and was left reflecting on the way in which his side upset the odds and overcame a Turkish team that finished third in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

'Happy to be underdogs'
"Before the game, we were shown as underdogs and I was very happy about this," said Starkovs, whose side progressed by virtue of a 1-0 win in the first leg in Riga. "In this game, we got our tactics exactly right. We scored both of our goals on the counterattack."

Two-goal lead
In contrast to Starkovs's glee, Turkish coach Senol Günes was downbeat after seeing his side knocked out, especially as goals from Nihat Kahveci and Hakan Sükür had at one stage put the home side in front on aggregate and seemingly in control of the tie. However, Laizans's strike - which put the visitors back in front on away goals - came only two minutes after Hakan Sükür had given Turkey the lead overall, and Günes admitted that was a turning point in the game.

'Shock defeat'
"Latvia's first goal came only after we scored the second, and the second goal damaged our morale," said the Turkish coach. "After leading 2-0 on the night, we conceded two unexpected goals. The team became undisciplined, and as Latvia's resistance increased, ours went down. This defeat is a shock for us."

'Latvia deserved to win'
Günes was generous in defeat though, reflecting that the victors were the better side over the two legs. "We could not manage to achieve qualification for EURO 2004™," he said. "We are very sorry that we could not pay our debt to the Turkish nation. In both games Latvia had more desire to win and deservedly qualified.

'Deep sadness'
"This is a deep sadness for us, though I have no intention [of resigning]," Günes said. "We have to learn our lessons from this bitter outcome and continue preparations for other competitions, such as the [FIFA] World Cup qualifiers."

Modest in victory
The last word went to Starkovs, who was modest in victory and insisted on paying tribute to his side's opponents and the supporters in the stadium. "At the end of the match, Turkish fans applauded us and you would not see that in every country," the Latvia coach said. "That made us even happier." It was one last sweet moment on a night full of them.