Faroe Islands - Rumania 2-2 (1-0)
1-0 Gunnar Zachariasen 29'
1-1 Gabriel Iancu 47'
1-2 Sergiu Bus 85'
2-2 Poul Ingason 90'
The Faroe Islands open their U21 campaign in style as they earn a draw against Rumania with last gasp equalizer.
The Faroes started as the brighter side and the domination paid dividend after 29 minutes when Árni Frederiksberg’s diagonal pass released Gilli Sørensen down the left flank to get past the defender to make the cross to a clear Gunnar Zachariasen who scored with a side-foot finish at the far post.
Towards the end of the first half, Rumania pressed for the equalizer, but the Faroes survived some close scares to go to half time with the lead.
But it seemed like all that hard work had been wrecked when Rumania equalized just two minutes into the second half when Gabriel Christian Iancu got clear to beat goalkeeper Kristian Joensen.
Rumania continued to dominate the second half until the game evened out again midway through the half, and with about ten minutes remaining; Árni Frederiksberg was a whisker from giving the Faroes the lead again when he struck the underside of the crossbar from a long range effort.
Instead it was Rumania who took the lead three minutes later when Sergiu Bus got clear to make an easy finish.
But the Faroese U21 team has produced some stunning results since their birth in 2007 and refuses to give up, and that spirit earned them another point today as 17-year old Poul Ingason, who had just come off the bench, grabbed an equalizer four minutes into added time with the last kick of the match.
Group 6 results and table
Montenegro - Faroe Islands 3-0 (1-0)
1-0 Stefan Mugosa 04'
2-0 Aleksandar Boljevic 52'
3-0 Stefan Mugosa 66'
The Faroe Islands got off to the worst thinkable start when Stefan Mugosa scored for Montenegro after only three minutes.
Although Gilli Sørensen had a decent opportunity for the Faroes in the first half, Montenegro were closer two doubling their advantage with an effort on the crossbar.
Aleksandar Boljevic made it 2-0 for Montenegro in the 52nd minute before the Faroes got a glorious opportunity to get back in to the match ten minutes later with a penalty, but unfortunately Bogi R. Petersen missed from the spot. – A bad habit that is continuing for the Faroes.
Instead
Montenegro cemented their win four minutes later when Mugosa scored his second
goal of the night to make it 3-0.
Group 6 results and table
Faroe Islands - Ireland 1-4 (1-1)
1-0 14' Gilli Sørensen
1-1 23' Samir Carruthers
1-2 68' Matt Doherty
1-3 88' Matt Doherty
1-4 90' Aiden O´Brien
The Faroe Islands got on to a great start by taking the lead after 14 minutes after a big mistake in the Irish defence were they gave away the ball to Gunnar Zachariasen who broke into the penalty area on the left and set up Gilli Sørensen who was clear to put the Faroe Islands in front.
Ireland thereafter started to take dominance of the game and their supremacy paid dividend after 23 minutes when Samir Carruthers broke through the Faroese defence to get clear with goalkeeper Kristian Joensen who blocked the initial shot, but was helpless with Carruthers’ rebound.
Ireland kept dominating the match, and although they weren’t creating clear-cut scoring opportunities in droves, a goal looked inevitable, and midway through the second half Matt Doherty put Ireland in front following a corner that at first had been cleared, but only for the ball to be knocked back in to the penalty area.
The Faroes never really threatened after this, and instead Ireland scored twice in the last couple of minutes, Doherty netting his second having broken through the Faroese defence before Aiden O´Brien took advantage when Joensen didn´t collect a cross.
Group 6 results and table
Faroe Islands - Germany 0-3 (0-1)
07' 0-1 Moritz Leitner
52' 0-2 Jonas Hofmann
80' 0-3 Leonardo Bittencourt
Although the Faroes started brightly, getting a corner inside the first minute of the game, Germany quickly took control of the game and took the lead in the seventh minute as they combined beautifully into the penalty area to play Moritz Leitner clear to get the ball past goalkeeper Teitur Gestsson who was just to short to make a block with his legs.
However, Germany didn’t pile on the pressure after this, although they created sporadic chances every now and then, especially in the last 15 minutes of the first half where some of the chances ought to have been put away, but where also Gestsson made a world class reflex save do deny a shot from close range.
It seemed as Germany had upped the tempo from the start of the second half, and six minutes later they had doubled their lead through Jonas Hofmann, who had come on at the start of the second half, as he scored at the far post, following an initial flat cross from the left which the Faroes failed to clear properly.
The pattern of second half was quite similar to the first half with the Germans creating chances now and then, but it took a defensive blunder before Germany could add to their scoring tally in the 80th minute when the Faroes were hit on the break, and four against three, Leonardo Bittencourt in the end poked the ball over the line from close range.
The Faroes had no real scoring attempts, but in the final minutes they had a free kick in a dangerous position, but Faroese captain Gilli Sørensen blasted the ball well over the goal.
Group 6 results and table
Germany - Faroe Islands 3-2 (1-1)
11' 0-1 Árni Frederiksberg
40' 1-1 Robin Knoche
69' 1-2 Hørður Askham
74' 2-2 Kevin Volland
82' 3-2 Amin Younes
The Faroe Islands stunned Germany by taking the lead after 11 minutes after a well worked moved, where Gunnar Zachariasen kept cool by combining with Gilli Sørensen on the edge of the penalty area before setting up Árni Frederiksberg to finish with a looping shot into the far side of the goal.
The Germans found it hard to penetrate the Faroese defence, but in the last ten minutes of the first half the pressure grew, and only a couple of great saves from goalkeeper Teitur Gestsson kept the Germans at bay.
But on 39 minutes the Germans pressure finally paid dividend following a corner and a ping-pong exchange before Robin Knoche poked in from close range.
Five minutes through the second half, Zachariasen went down as he had just gotten clear of the German defence, but the referee waived play on and not a free kick nor a red card for the last German defender. The TV pictures were not conclusive whether it should have been a red card or not. Maybe the forward went down rather easily.
After the hour, the Germans had a couple of golden opportunities again, but in one instance the shot went just over and in another Gestsson made another crucial save.
And the incredible thing happened in the 69th minute: The Faroe Islands regained the lead! A long throw-in from Sørensen was flicked on to unmarked centre-back Hørður Askham to make an easy side-foot finish from close range.
But the lead lasted only for five minutes, though. After the Faroes had survived a header on the post in the 73rd minute, Germany equalized a minute later after a cross to the far post was headed back across the goal where a clear Kevin Volland tapped in.
And nine minutes from the end of normal time Lineker’s prophesy came true once more as Germany attacked true the middle through Emre Can who found Amin Younes who fired a weak shot between the legs of the big defender which wrong-footet Gestsson who had no chance to stop the shot from going in.
Ireland - Faroe Islands 5-2 (5-2)
17' 1-0 Samir Carruthers
20' 2-0 Aiden O'Brien
25' 3-0 Jack Grealish
26' 3-1 Gunnar Zachariasen
37' 3-2 Gunnar Zachariasen (pen)
39' 4-2 Anthony Forde
42' 5-2 Aiden O'Brien
After the near-sensation against Germany a month ago, optimism was high against Ireland this time, but the end-result was far away from the pre-match hopes.
Ireland opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Samir Carruthers broke into the penalty to beat Teitur Gestsson in the Faroese goal. Just three minutes later Aiden O'Brien got past his defender before firing past Gestsson. And it went from bad to worse for the Faroes five minutes later when Jack Grealish headed home from Anthony O'Connor cross from the right.
The Faroes looked completely out of it, but got a glimmer of hope just a minute later when forward Gunnar Zachariasen found the back of the net with a shot that went in off the post from the edge of the penalty area.
Some ten minutes later, Zachariasen pulled another goal back – this time from the penalty spot after an infringement against central defender Sonni Ragnar Nattestad.
An unlikely comeback was suddenly not unrealistic, but the Faroese hope lived only for a couple of minutes when the Faroes were hit by a sucker punch as Anthony Forde scored from long range. And the agony wasn´t over yet for the Faroes as they conceded yet again just three minutes later when O’Brien scored his second goal of the afternoon, prodding home following a corner.
The second half was a quieter affair without goals, but where the Irish were closer to adding to their tally, but Gestsson made a couple of saves to prevent further embarrassment.
Maybe it was evident that the Faroese season ended three weeks ago, and although the team has been training during the weeks, match sharpness seemed to be missing.
The Faroe Islands’ next game is away to Rumania in March next year – again out of season which could take its toll.
Group 6 results and final table
Romania comfortably
beat the Faroe Islands 3-1
Romania – Faroe Islands 3-1 (1-0)
18' 1-0: Owngoal (Sørmund Kalsø)
56' 2-0: Martin Madalin
58' 2-1: Gunnar Zachariasen (pen)
66' 3-1: Christian Gavra
After Romania had taken a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute, the Faroe Islands got their hope back when they pulled a goal back on a penalty just a couple of minutes later, but the hope lasted only for 8 minutes however, as Romania restored their two-goal cushion to win 3-1.
When the sides met in the Faroe Islands last year, the 2-2 draw cost the Romanian coach the job in the aftermath, and although another sacking was not the goal of the Faroese players, they had reasonable hopes for another upset.
But that upset faded when Romania took the lead after 18 minutes defender Sørmund Kalsø was credited for an owngoal.
Ten minutes through the second half, defender Deian Boldor set up Rapid București striker Martin Madalin to double the lead.
Boldor then committed a penalty just a couple of minutes later which Gunnar Zachariasen securely executed to restore Faroese hopes, but it was short-lived as Romania decided matter eight minutes later, when Madalin turned provider for Christian Gavra to seal a 3-1 win.
The Faroe Islands were without some of their best players like Gilli Sørensen, Hallur Hansson and Sonne Ragnar Nattestad who are on a training camp with the Faroese senior team in Spain in these days.
Group 6 results and final table
Faroe Islands - Montenegro 1-0 (1-0)
1-0 31': Ári Mohr Jónsson
Having started the campaign with a 2-2 draw against Rumania in June 2013, the points had evaded the Faroese account during the rest of the campaign although some credible results - especially the 3-2 defeat by Germany who twice were a goal down - until today where the Faroe Islands deservedly beat Montenegro who narrowly miss out on the play-offs as a result.
The only goal of the game came on the half-hour mark after a well worked Faroese move where Ari Mohr Jónsson scored in off the post.
The Faroese team was in control for most of the game and were in fact close to increasing the lead rather than conceding. However, Teitur Gestsson had to be alert 20 minutes through the second half when he stretched to divert the ball around the post for a corner.
Montenegro came close in added time to, but a late tackle directed the ball over the goal for a corner.
Group 6 results and final table