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After a 1-0 victory in the Baltic Football League match against Vilnius "Vėtra" on Tuesday, Tallinn's head coach Paasi Rautiainenas said that this victory is very important for his team.
"Excellent weather, excellent environment for football. It's my first time in Vilnius, but I really liked this city, and during the morning training session I was fascinated by this stadium," the Finnish coach started the press conference in a positive mood. "I hope that Estonia will also have such stadiums."
"Speaking of the match, I believe the red card was deserved. I have to admit that it made the game easier for us," said the strategist. "But no matter the lineup 'Vėtra' puts on the field, they have very good footballers. I'm proud of my guys who played really well."
"I am especially pleased with three or four players who haven't played in the starting lineup for a long time but performed very well today," said P. Rautiainenas. "This victory is very important for us because we recently suffered a painful defeat at home, so the players needed a psychological victory."
When asked why his players missed several opportunities to score more goals, the Finnish coach replied: "I'll say it straight - we lacked expertise. Football in Estonia is still very young, and it takes time to raise the level of expertise. You can't expect us to run around on the field like 'Bayern' or 'Milan', with players scoring goals like Ballack or Klose. That takes time. But it's good that we scored at least one goal, because lately we sometimes couldn't score at all."
The coach also praised the organization level of the Baltic Football League and expressed his desire for "Flora" to participate in the tournament next year. "Players need such matches," said P. Rautiainenas.
When asked if he knew that the odds for his team's victory before the match were 9-1 in the betting offices, P. Rautiainenas was very surprised: "Really!? I had no idea, I never bet, so I don't follow these things."
Meanwhile, during the press conference, "Flora" goalkeeper Mikhelis Aksalu said that "Vėtra" played "ugly, especially in the episode when a red card was shown."
"'Vėtra' showed us how football is played, but we showed how goals are scored," said the team leader. "This victory is very important for us, as three days ago we lost 6-0 in the Estonian championship. Today we had to be a very tough opponent, as we were very angry."
