Efficiency is the main difference, as the Faroe Islands are beaten 3-0 by Cyprus

August 17, 2005: World Cup Qualifier, Faroe Islands - Cyprus:

Faroe Islands – Cyprus 0-3 (0-1)
0-1 Michalis Konstantinou 38'
0-2 Michalis Konstantinou (pen) 76'
0-3 Asimakis Krassas 90 +4'

0 -3 looks like a heavy beating, but the score-line doesn’t give a fair impression of the match. The main difference between the teams was efficiency, as Cyprus scored on every chance they created, whereas the Faroe Islands couldn’t convert any of a whole string of “can’t-miss” chances.

Before the start of the match, there was one minute of silence in memory of the victims in the Cypriot plane-accident in Greece on Sunday. Both teams also wore black armbands.

Cyprus made a very bright start to the game and had a shot at goal in the second minute, but it went wide. One minute later, Cyprus beat the Faroese off-side trap and Charalampidis was played clear in the penalty area, but goalkeeper Jens Martin Knudsen quickly narrowed the angle and blocked the shot to a corner.

Five minutes into the game, the Faroes had their first opportunity. Rógvi Jacobsen played Todi Jónsson on the left, he sprinted to the goalline and crossed the ball to Jákup á Borg, who took it down with the chest, but the touch wasn’t subtle enough and before he had time to shoot, he was marked by a defender. He then had to take an extra step to get around the defender to get a shot at goal from an acute angle, but the goalkeeper blocked the shot. The ball bounced to Todi Jónsson again on the left and with superb dribbling skills, he rounded 3 defenders and set up Andrew av Fløtum for a shot, but it was blocked by the defense.

One minute the Faroe Islands created another great opportunity. Andrew av Fløtum played Jákup á Borg on the right. Jakup crosses the ball and Rógvi Jacobsen heads the ball to Claus Beck Jørgensen who shoots at goal in two attempts. The first is blocked by a defender and the second by the goalkeeper. The ball then bounces to Todi Jónsson, but 1 meter in front of goal, he somehow puts it over the goal.

33 minutes into the match, Andrew av Fløtum played 1-2 with Rógvi, but Andrew’s shot went over the goal.

But when 37 minutes had elapsed of the first half, a bad pass in midfield became very costly for the Faroes. A Cypriot player catches the ball on the right and beats two Faroese defenders, who desperately try to stop him. He then plays the ball to Ioannis Okkas, who again plays Michael Constantinou. He the shoots a cheeky curling shot with no power from 25 meters, but the keeper, who was maybe a bit blindsided by a defender, just stands there paralyzed and Cyprus were leading 1-0. But a very soft goal all the way.

Two minutes from halftime, Cyprus’s Eleftherios Elefteriou was shown the red card, for a second bookable offense.

At halftime, Todi Jónsson was replaced by Christian Høgni Jacobsen, because of an injury.

With the advantage of playing the whole of the second half 11 against 10, the Faroe Island piled on the pressure on the Cypriot goal from the word go, and after only two minutes, they created their first opputunity:

Atli Danielsen played a long diagonal ball up-field to Mortan úr Hørg. He crossed the ball to Jákup á Borg in the penalty area, and set up Christian Høgni Jacobsen for a shot, but the angle was tight and the ball went over the goal.

Six minutes into the second half, the referee ordered the Cyprus coach to leave the bench after he constantly had been making protests and of course he protested against that also and it took a while until he obeyed the referee’s orders.

Nine minutes into the second half, debutant Mortan úr Hørg wins a ball just outside the penalty area and hammers the ball on the upright. A fantastic shot which deserved better. The goal quivered for several minutes…

Three minutes later, Christan Høgni Jacobsen intercepts a bad Cyprus-pass, dribbles and plays Jákup á Borg clear in the penalty area, but he blasts the ball high over the goal. That should have been 1-1! (again…)

Two minutes after, the Cypriot loose another ball outside their penalty area, this time to Andrew av Fløtum, who dribbles and the shoot at goal, but the goalkeeper fists the ball over the crossbar.

20 minutes into the second half Cyprus have an attempt again. Konstantinou is played throug on the right and shoots from a tight angle.

71 minutes into the game Claus Beck Jørgensen crosses the ball to Rógvi Jacobsen who finds Christian Høgni Jacobsen free right in front of goal, but his weak header is saved by the goalkeeper. He should have score!

15 minutes from time, it is instead Cyprus who get another goal after a mistake or two in the Faroese defense. Ioannis Okkas tries to chip the ball to another Cypriot player but the ball ends right behind Mortan úr Hørg, but instead of a calm clearance of the ball, he over-eagerly tries to clear it with a scissors-kick, even if the ball is virtually lying on the ground, but he misses the ball completely and instead Cypriot Okkas gets hold of it and runs into the penalty area where an also over-eagerly Jens Martin Knudsen rushes out of his goal and makes a sliding tackle and brings down Okkas. - A clear penalty. Michalis Konstantinou comfortably converts it fo a 2-0 lead for Cyprus. With just a quarter of an hour left, the gamed seemd all but won for Cyprus.

But the Faroe Islands still tried to press forward. In the 88th minute Rogvi Jacobsen plays Andrew av Fløtum who runs at the defense, cuts inside and shoots a good low shot, but the keeper is behind the ball.

One minute into time added on, the Faroes have another excellent opportunity to score. Jákup á Borg crosses from the right and inside the penalty area Rógvi Jacobsen heads the ball to Christian Høgni Jacobsen on the right, but he blasts the ball across the goal. Another missed opportunity for the Faroe Islands.

But then, after 4 minutes of added on-time, it is instead Cyprus who scores their 3rd. They have the ball on the right hand side, run to the the goalline and cross the ball across the faroese goal, but nobody is there to collect it. But the Cypriots pick the ball up again on the left and with simple touches and passes, they outplay a passive and disheartened Faroese defese and Asimakis S. Krassas puts the ball into the empty net for 3-0 to Cyprus.