The national Under 21 football team of Moldova lost the debut match at the CIS Cup against Russia’s squad by 3-0. The goals were scored by Bolov, Zubarev, and Moghilevets, IPN reports.

“The physical condition had a say. However, I think that Russia wasn’t much better than we. In this tournament, we are testing a number of players who may help us in the Euro 2015 preliminaries,” Moldova manager Alexandru Curteian said after the game.

In this competition, Moldova’s lineup does not include Eugen Zasavitski, Nicolae Milinceanu, Ivan Prodanm and Sergiu Matei, who are not within the age bracket, and goalkeeper Alexei Coshelev, who is on trials at Kuban Krasnodar.

”The first half was balanced, with the Moldovan defense causing a number of problems to us. In the second half, we played much better. I’m glad that we opened the competition with a victory,” said Russia coach Nikolai Pisarev.

The next match Moldova plays against the team from Sankt-Petersburg on January 26. On January 27, it meets Lithuania.