Norway thankful for Carew

Åge Hareide has given credit to striker John Carew after Norway started their UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying campaign with wins against Hungary and Moldova.

Goal drought
The Olympique Lyonnais totem has failed to find the target for his country in the qualifying campaign so far, but his coach maintained there was more to Carew than goals after he played a starring role in the 4-1 victory in Budapest and the 2-0 defeat of Moldova in Oslo. "He's been very important for us," said Hareide. "He's grown into a real team player, he works hard and is very strong. Everybody focuses on his goal drought for Norway, but look at how much he contributes to the rest of the team. The way he laid on the first goal against Moldova for Fredrik Strømstad was splendid."

Carew assist
Norway had struggled to break down a stubborn Moldova defence until Carew won possession on the left wing, dribbled past two players and crossed for Strømstad to head in. "We knew the Moldovans would try to stifle us, and that the players needed to be patient," said Hareide. Carew, who celebrated his 27th birthday the day before the Moldova game, also impressed Hareide with his stamina. "He weighs 90 kilos, and had played 90 tough minutes against Hungary on Saturday, but he was excellent yet again," said the coach. "I'm very impressed."

Greece next
The two wins leave Norway top of Group C ahead of their next fixture against Greece in Athens on 7 October. "These six points give us a good start, and we can go into the away game in Greece with confidence," said Hareide. "But it only takes a few disappointing results for our fortunes to change."