Kanerva rallies Finland fans
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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Finland coach Markku Kanerva is calling on the home fans in Turku to urge them on to victory as they seek to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Austria in the second leg of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs.
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'Dream alive'
Neither team has ever reached the U21s finals before and Austria have the edge following their 2-1 first-leg win. But now they must travel to Finland and Kanerva, having seen his team go two down in 13 minutes on Friday, is given hope by Perparim Hetemaj's second-half response. "Austria were as tough as we expected," Kanerva said. "We were asleep at the beginning and Austria got two goals. Our dream is still alive thanks to the away goal."
Duo banned
Kanerva has no injury worries, but wingers Tomi Petrescu and Hetemaj are now suspended. FC Honka Espoo duo Nicholas Otaru and Jussi Vasara have been called up, but Juha Hakola and Mika Ojala are candidates to start out wide. "It will not be easy to beat Austria, but we certainly still have a chance of qualifying," the coach said. "I hope we will get good support from the home crowd, we certainly need that."
Austria hopeful
Had Austria taking their chances after Christoph Saurer and Florian Klein's early goals in the first leg, Finland could already be out of sight. But visiting coach Manfred Zsak remains confident. "Everybody knows what to do," he said. "Our big ambition is to reach the final tournament. We are in a good position after the first match, but in this round anything is possible." He has Andreas Dober back from suspension but fellow defender Franz Schiemer and striker Rubin Okotie are now banned.