Details make the difference

“We knew the difficulty surrounding today’s rival, and I think we did a good job.  Conceding a goal so early on made things tough for us, as the initial approach of being more on top of each clearance changed within the first minute.  A team that is superior in possession forces you to pile the pressure on much more and open up the lines, and this is where the quality of today’s rival shines through.  Despite everything, I think we competed well, and we managed to equalise at one stage.  I leave with the feeling that we deserved more, but you pay dearly for mismatches against this team.  They didn’t shoot more than us, they didn’t have better statistics than us, but they made the difference, which is a small part of what happened today.”

Good work

“There have been results of all kinds, but they are different matches, and of course, when you don’t win it makes you angry, regardless of the rival.  In this case, the result makes me angry because of my players’ hard work, for the strength they showed, not just physically, they performed well in many aspects as far as the match is concerned.  Not earning any points after having options is upsetting at this time, but I’m also very proud of how the team competed.  This is the way forward.”

Constancy

“Such great effort is costly, shown by the kilometres the players cover during play, but I think we had good momentum throughout.  It’s true that with the rival having the advantage on the scoreboard, the fact that we were more tired and the quality they have when it comes to possession, made it difficult to take the ball away from them.  We tried, but despite being somewhat overwhelmed by the rival in the final minutes, we did arrive at the goal area at the end of the match.”

Specific errors

“We’ve had two matches in which, due to specific errors, we’ve suffered a great deal with the rival’s gameplay and conceded two situations that left us behind on the scoreboard.  We did compete until the end, but it wasn’t enough to claim the points.  That’s what we need to improve on.  We can’t make such mistakes, however I’m very pleased on the whole with the delivery of my players.”

Change of dynamic

“For the past few games we’ve had to take a step forward as players.  We’ve always had the fans’ support, but now there’s more identification from them with what they see from their team, which is what we cannot lose for the remainder of the League season.  There is a long way to go yet, and despite the best and worst results, this is the way forward, and this is what makes me confident.  I’m very proud to be this team’s coach.”