Czech turnaround pleases Hřebík

After seeing his side come from behind to defeat the Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Hřebík admitted an unusual mixture of calmness and vocal encouragement was needed to spur his players into action in Mogosoaia. Leonidas Vokolos was pleased with the improvement Greece showed in overcoming Romania, while losing coaces Paul Doolin and Lucian Burchel found much to admire in their conquerors.

CZECH REPUBLIC 2-1 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Jaroslav Hřebík, Czech Republic coach
The game didn't start so well for us as we conceded an unlucky goal for the second time in as many matches. That got to our players; they felt under more pressure which in turn forced them into making mistakes. In comparison the Irish played very well and pressed aggressively. During the break I told my team they had to remain calm because we knew what our game plan was and that we would get chances to turn the match around.  That suddenly became the case [as the Czechs took a 2-1 lead]. The main factor was our equalising goal. Before that it seemed that we had 26 attacks from which nothing came. With the 27th we finally scored. I was so loud on the touchline because my players were so quiet, which is very unusual for this team.

Paul Doolin, Republic of Ireland coach
We thought it would be tough; we had more chances after we scored but they started strongly at the start of the second half. We came up a bit short in the end as they were stronger than us after the break. The first goal [we conceded] was soft from our point of view; we didn't defend it well. What can you say about the second? It was a great strike. Their keeper made a fantastic save from [Anthony] Forde in the second half but overall I didn't think we had that spark after the restart. Congratulations to them; they are a decent side and are practically through to the semi-finals. If we knew before starting the tournament the position we would be in after two games we would have taken it.

ROMANIA 0-1 GREECE
Leonidas Vokolos, Greece coach
Romania are a decent side. They're playing in their own country and had a bad result in their first game, so we knew it would be difficult. I'm very happy with my players, particularly with their effort. We were much better than Romania in the first half, and could have had more goals. They pressed us in the last 20 minutes, as you'd expect, and we had some luck on a couple of occasions. We concentrated from the first minute, something we didn't do in the first game. We spoke a lot about that; I told the kids repeatedly that a game lasts from the first minute until the referee blows the final whistle.

Lucian Burchel, Romania coach
I'm a bit disappointed because we had several chances to score and didn't take them. On the other hand I'm quite satisfied because we matched a strong Czech Republic team for 90 minutes. We had some good periods in the game but didn't manage to make the most of them. I know my players and what they're capable of and bit by bit we're getting better. It's possible there's a problem of confidence and also concentration. We wanted it a lot and maybe we lost sight of that a bit. Greece are a good team, solid and very good physically and technically, particularly in midfield and attack. They've got some good players and they were a pleasure to play.