Pellicer: “If there’s any way not to get points, this should be it”
The Málaga CF coach analysed the match against Real Zaragoza held at La Rosaleda and not being able to score the three points: “We are leaving with a bittersweet feeling as we did all we could. We played the best match against a great rival”.
Good match without reward
“I’m very proud of the players’ hard work, they are the protagonists and beyond the analysis of the result if there’s any way not to get points, this should be it. We are leaving with a bittersweet feeling as we did all we could. We played the best match against a great rival. However, by the second half we were closer to the opposite goal. They damaged us in transitions, we had to bring Luis off because of the card. The only bittersweet feeling is we couldn’t give the fans a victory, but they should feel proud of the team. This is the way forward, it’s a long journey. We didn’t reap the reward today, but these things happen in football”.
Match against a great rival
“When you have options from a set piece and in transitions or positional attack. The biggest percentage of goals is from the set piece, transitions and errors. We would be concerned if we didn’t step in the rival area. We prepared the match knowing the rival is one of the best on positional attack, and we didn’t let them. We pressured them upfront and stole possession. Finishing in developing actions is far more difficult, which is something we’re working on. At any moment the goal could have gone our way. Against this type of opponent, with any action they may have, it led to doubts in the second half. That said, we had many occasions and were close to taking the lead on the scoreboard”.
A defeat that serves to boost the team
“The players are angry as they believe they deserved a lot more. We need to know how to reposition, which is something we work on throughout the season. What happened today should serve to give the team a boost and move forward. The result didn’t go the way we wanted, but overall, against this rival, we should feel incredibly proud. Many times in matches you deserve less but achieve more. Today the result wasn’t fair. We have to turn this into optimism. Another big rival is coming on Saturday. This is the way forward”.
Stability
"This wasn’t a Second Division game, it was like a top-flight clash. What we do every day is focus on the sport, which is the survival of all teams. May there be that level of calm required for everyone to tackle these situations. The group is disappointed, they wanted to make the fans happy. However, they generated excitement and we need the fans to be excited about the team. We must keep our feet on the ground, as it’s a struggle to score points and win games”.
Winning mentality
“We always think we have to score the three points each time. We didn’t lose today because we went all out for this match, we felt comfortable on the pitch. We need to follow the idea of going for the game, the other day against Las Palmas we had a better result, but we could have come back with nothing. Our aim is to add points, hopefully all three each time”.
