Sollied rues Johnsen brilliance
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Article summary
Trond Sollied felt Olympiacos CFP would have defeated Rosenborg BK were it not for the visitors' "world-class goalkeeper" Espen Johnsen.
Article body
Rosenborg BK got their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a great start after coming from behind to defeat Olympiacos CFP 3-1 in Group F. The Greek champions went ahead through Alejandro Lago's own goal on 19 minutes, while the visitors equalised just before the interval through competition debutant Per Skjelbred. A freak own-goal from Dimitrios Mavrogenidis put Rosenborg ahead just after the break and they held on before Øyvind Storflor scored in the last minute to seal the win.
Per-Mathias Høgmo, Rosenborg coach
When we qualified for the group stage, I sensed that this team had potential, despite our bad performances in the domestic league. Tonight we played with three strong midfielders to control Olympiacos's creative players. We played very well on the flanks and were able to prevent their attacks. We held the ball and weren't forced to chase them. If my players can gain confidence from this performance, we will have a better future. I did not expect a 3-1 victory, but my main concern is always the performance - and our performance tonight was very satisfactory. We deserved to have some luck today.
Trond Sollied, Olympiacos coach
It was a bad match for us. We managed to score the opener, but then we could not continue at the same tempo until the interval and we invited Rosenborg back into the game. In the second half, we dominated and kept pushing for the second goal but instead fell behind with a most unusual goal. We dominated afterwards and, if it were not for their world-class goalkeeper, we would have won. You must score to win in football and we missed a lot of chances we should have scored. Rosenborg took advantage of the chances we gave them. We all are responsible for the defeat. It's only the first match of the group stage though, there are still 15 points up for grabs.
Dimitrios Mavrogenidis, Olympiacos defender
Unfortunately, things did not go to plan. After the goal we scored, we missed a lot of chances. But having to chase the game early in the second half had a negative impact on our psychology. The result is proof that you always need to remain vigilant in the Champions League. We upset ourselves and our supporters, but we must fight on.
