Pellicer: “This is going to be non-stop, we have to focus on the next match”
The Málaga CF coach spoke to the media telematically following the match against SD Huesca. “We need to forget about this defeat quickly and focus on the three points against Tenerife. We must have patience, but be highly demanding”, he affirmed.
Match analysis
“Many things happened during this match. It’s all very strange. There seems to be no tension, but it’s quite the opposite. The statistics are there. It’s a game of two halves. In the initial minutes, in the first approach, the visitors took the lead. They made four shots and scored three goals. The team managed to recover against this adversity against a great rival. After the deserved expulsion, we lacked a degree of clarity in the final pass. When we equalised, it looked as though we may have been able to get to half-time all square and prepare another plan for the remainder of the match. However, due to another error made by us, the rival took the lead again. In the second half, David’s expulsion meant we had to change the game plan. The physical level isn’t optimal for everyone, but we have to recover and look at where we went wrong so as to improve. We need to focus on Tenerife. We’re living with the situation such as the absence of Luis Hernández, Diego’s card, the expulsion of David (Lombán). We know the road ahead will be full of obstacles, and up until now the team has always been replenished. The journey ahead is going to be tough, but I’m confident the team will make it”.
Arbitration
“The images are there. We’re human, there are mistakes, but there’s a tool called VAR. Yet we have the uncertainty of when it should and shouldn’t be used. One or various images are worth more than a thousand words. I don’t need to think about David’s action as it was seen. This marks the fate of the match and cannot serve as an excuse. We need to regroup. When it comes to arbitration, we can all get it wrong, which is why we have VAR, for when the referee is in the wrong it can be rectified. However today, for some unknown reason, it wasn’t rectified”.
Return to competition, behind closed doors
“The return of the competition is most welcome. It’s positive that we can compete. Playing in an empty stadium is unusual. It will be an experience for everyone”.
Maintaining balance
“This is football, there needs to be balance. If we had won, we’ve be asking for prudence. However, in defeat we have to seek solutions. The match calendar is the same for everyone, we have six important points at stake in three days. There are players who are training who will have to compete on Monday. This is the scenario for us and all the other teams. We need to forget about this defeat quickly and focus on the three points against Tenerife. This is going to be non-stop and the team that achieves the most balance will be the one that achieves the objective. We are clear what our objective is. We must have patience, but be highly demanding”.
Correct mistakes
“After the game, I wasn’t able to verify the first penalty action. I did see David’s and he told me he didn’t touch him. Then the rival fell three metres from him. The statistics are there to be seen and to determine whether they resemble the reality of the game. They made four shots at goal, they were incredibly effective. We had various crosses, but we lacked finish. We need to have that balance. Tomorrow we’ll work on rectifying the mistakes, think that they won’t happen again and focus on the next match”.
Reserve team players
“The rules have changed, more players can be called-up and more substitutions can be made. We ended up with four players from the reserve team, at the risk of another expulsion. Despite everything, the team came together. We’ve had to face these adversities all year. The teams with more professional players will have much less fatigue on a daily basis. This situation isn’t the best, but we need to focus on getting out of it. The reserve team lads are here to help”.
