Dević hails deadly Metalist after Austria coup
Thursday, December 1, 2011
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Marko Dević applauded FC Metalist Kharkiv's finishing after they sealed top spot in Group G with a 4-1 win over FK Austria Wien whose captain Markus Suttner is still hopeful of progress.
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Goalscorer Marko Dević put FC Metalist Kharkiv's 4-1 victory against FK Austria Wien down to superior finishing as the Ukrainian side confirmed progress to the UEFA Europa League knockout phase as Group G winners. All is not lost for Austria Wien, however, after AZ Alkmaar missed their opportunity to seal second place by drawing at Malmö FF and captain Markus Suttner is not giving up yet. The Violets must beat the Swedish club on matchday six to give themselves a chance and hope Metalist do them a favour in Alkmaar.
Marko Dević, Metalist forward
It was not an easy game. Austria are a very good team but tonight our better finishing got us the win. In all other areas – passing, possession, pressing – they were equal to us. We have achieved our task of qualifying, but even more we have secured first place and done it with a game remaining. We are not planning to go to Alkmaar like tourists. Of course, it's up to the coach who will start that match, but I can assure our fans and Austria supporters that whoever plays will give everything to win.
Edmar, Metalist midfielder
It was a difficult game because we are a bit tired after a lot of matches recently, and also because, despite the result, Austria played better than in the first game [a 2-1 Metalist win in Vienna]. We have secured top spot already and in two weeks we'll have no pressure to get a result so we are planning to play good football in Alkmaar. Of course, I hope this will pay off and we get three points.
Marco Torsiglieri, Metalist defender
The score is a very good reflection of our performance. We had the match under control for 90 minutes. Also our good physical condition at the moment helped us keep a high tempo all game. It was important to qualify in first place and we have done it.
Markus Suttner, Austria defender
Metalist are a good team and we already knew that. The match did not start well for us as they scored an early opener, but we equalised straight away. Unfortunately we conceded the second just before half-time – I think that was the moment the match was over for us. In the next game I hope Metalist win in the Netherlands. It will be very difficult to score six goals against Malmö so we must hope Metalist win and that we do so too, to qualify for the next round.
