Coaches cautious despite first wins

Spain coach Juan Santisteban and his Greece counterpart Nikolaos Nioplias were both satisfied rather than elated after their sides opened UEFA European Under-19 Championship Group A with victories against hosts Austria and Portugal respectively. For losing coaches Hermann Stadler and Edgar Borges, however, there was plenty to ponder ahead of their second fixtures on Wednesday, when Greece play Austria and Spain take on Portugal.

AUSTRIA 0-2 SPAIN
Hermann Stadler, Austria coach
Congratulations to Spain. The first half was quite even, we played just as well as Spain or even better, but in the second half we lost our way. After the first goal, which came from our defensive mistake, we got a lot worse – we fell apart after that. Our problem is that we can't concentrate for 90 minutes. The first goal changed everything, Spain played very well from then on and we were mentally and physically destroyed - although if we'd taken our chances it could have been different. We had a great crowd so I'm not too sad at the result – we know next time we'll do better.

Juan Santisteban, Spain coach
I was surprised, in a very positive sense, by Austria, especially the physical condition of their players. I would like to congratulate them for the way they played, the result does not exactly show the standard of the two teams or the story of the match. We made Austria run a lot, especially in the second half and together with the high temperature, those factors combined for our victory. We've played Austria a lot at youth level and victory always comes at a price. I'm happy with my team, they gave their all and achieved everything we asked them to do. We can't help but be satisfied with a performance like that.

GREECE 1-0 PORTUGAL
Nikolaos Nioplias, Greece coach  
It was a fair result; Portugal were very dangerous from crosses, especially in the first half and we lost our way a bit after the goal but that's normal. We wanted to protect the result and it's natural you become more nervous then while some players picked up yellow cards so they had to be more careful and were a bit afraid. It's good to start with a win, it gives the team confidence; they knew they were a good team and now they have more evidence of that. We played well today but we'll have to do so again on Wednesday if we want another win.

Edgar Borges, Portugal coach
My players are heroes to play in such warm weather. The match was very even, we both had chances and Greece played as we expected - they're a very strong team. Our first-half strategy was to calm the match and to play harder in the second half, make the ball do the work. However, we had to try everything to win the match after falling behind; Greece had more luck than us in the end but the fairest result would have been a draw. Small details made the difference today; Greece are a good team but they had more luck in the final third of the pitch because they scored a goal and we didn't even though the teams had the same amount of chances. Their goalkeeper made two great saves and we have to underline that.