Javi Gracia evaluates the attitude of his players: “Despite the tough conditions at the rival ground, we gave our all but it wasn’t to be. The team knew what was at stake tonight and the historic opportunity that was within our grasp, but what happened tonight wasn’t due to the fact we didn’t do our best; it was the rival goal.”
The Navarran-born coach says it wasn’t the best match for the ‘Malaguistas’: “We were inaccurate on occasion, play was fast and it was raining continually, added to the fact that the pressure from the rival impeded our combinative style of play.” Despite this the ‘Malaguista’ coach comments: “The rival goal was the result of a free kick in our favour, and following this we did create a few chances, such as the near-miss by Camacho and Javi Guerra’s disallowed goal.”
Gracia doesn’t want to discuss the controversy surrounding the referee’s decision “because it would sound like I’m having a tantrum more than anything else. Congratulations to Athletic and I hope they go as far as possible in the competition.”
