Difficult rival

“The team was immersed in the match until the end, generated opportunities and went ahead on the scoreboard. We came to a tough ground, faced a very good team and we were aware of the difficulty. They are matches, and anything can happen during play. We had our moment, but it was a shame about the final minutes. I’m certain that both teams will leave thinking they could have won. The effort, work and sacrifice, as well as the point, are the positives we’re taking away from a difficult ground. Now we carry on, move forward, this competition doesn’t stop. We continue working hard, looking to the future, the immediate future which is Friday, so in two days we’ll be working towards another very important match”.

Equality

“It was a game with alternatives, as always happens. The two teams had their moment and opportunities. Either team could have gone in front. I remember two or three plays in the first half, two good shots passing the ball to the area; they had a good transition, caught us out with a set piece, it was very much one-to-one, and in the end, they defended well. The two sides had their moment, we were fortunate to take the lead as the team was alive and we had the match very balanced. As happens in every game, during an opportunity or because of a mistake, or the team who is more effective in the attacking half, is the one who will go in front. We were lucky enough to do that, then they went level and the final 10 minutes were focused on clear approaches to the area. We arrived with clarity, indeed we could have taken the lead again, but we must bear in mind that we were faced with a very good rival. We must continue to evaluate and look to the future with optimism, particularly because of the hard work and efficiency we are showing at times”.

Scoring points

“Earning points is always important, especially with the sensations you leave with. The team conveys good sensations during matches, the players have their options against difficult rivals and are always engrossed in the game. It’s very early, I’ll start looking at the standings in March or April. When you score points, you know that you’re moving up, don’t ask me who’s in fifth, sixth or seventh place. What I’m interested in is that we’re earning points, we’re getting closer and in April we’ll look towards what objective we’re going to strive for”.