We deserved to lose, says Cyprus boss Anastasiades

 

CYPRUS coach Angelos Anastasiades admitted that the better team won on the night after Denmark’s 2-0  victory in their Euro 2012 Group clash in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

“Our opponents were better than us and they deserved to win. We could not follow their pace throughout the game. As much as we tried we could not break through into their half the way we wanted,” said Anastasiades.

“Of course we are in a very difficult position now even though mathematically there is hope of advancing. Maybe I am the one to blame as I could have used some other players who could have been more relaxed on the pitch and it’s possible they could have offered something more. “Denmark are a better team than Norway (who beat Cyprus 2-1 on Friday night) and they showed that against us,” he added

Morten Olsen’s men were on top throughout, but the game was still goalless at half time.

Second-half goals from substitute Morten Rasmussen, who scored with a header three minutes after coming on, and from 24-year-old striker Kasper Lorentzen, who hammered in a left-foot shot from just outside the area, secured victory for the Danes.

“I think we played exactly how we had agreed before the game. We showed from the start who we were and what we wanted,” Olsen told Danish television immediately after the win.

“We got our fans behind us and managed to push the Cypriots back.

“This is one of the reasons why Anders Lindegaard kept a clean sheet for our second consecutive home game.

“I am thrilled with this victory. Absolutely. However, the fact that we didn’t score until the second half of course left me a little uneasy

In future, we need to learn to be more clinical and not waste our opportunities,” he added.

The latest defeat leaves Cyprus on only one point from their first three games and in fourth spot in the group.

Iceland are last, after losing 3-1 at home to a rejuvenated Portugal on Tuesday.

Norway top the group with nine points from three games, while Portugal are now second with seven points.

Denmark are a further point behind.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.