Great work without reward
“This is an example of football. Many things can happen during 95 minutes; 94 went in our favour and then we had a minute of counter-attacks from the rival, all the players are quality players, but the keeper also plays. That amounted to the danger we faced, which was very dangerous; two actions in one minute from Sporting in the entire game. We worked hard on all levels. However, the first half was fairly even. We are two teams with a very solid defensive structure, we concede very little, which was seen today. Even so, we played much more in the rival half, we were close to their area, had 13 corners in total and our dominance was much clearer in the second half. We congratulated our players, they kept their heads held high and we cannot be angry about anything other than the goal just not finding the net. Our players played a very good game at all levels. On a defensive level we remained concentrated throughout, those two occasions I mentioned in the 90th minute by the rival were completely isolated and had nothing to do with the rest of the game. We worked extremely hard the rest of the 94 minutes; we generated chances, played on the inside, outside, with depth, set pieces… We created very clear opportunities, but the ball didn’t go in. It will do, these things happen in football. As I said, our players did a very good job, both in defence and attack, in terms of concentration and at this level of a competition which is incredibly close”.
The goal is a question of streaks
“The goal is a question of streaks. The reason why the ball sometimes goes in and other times it doesn’t is from a shot, a clearance… an action that doesn’t depend on you, more a game of chance. We’re very optimistic as we see the attitude the team has, the players are so happy every day in training and never get disheartened. They understand it’s a question of a run of results and also forms part of our work. Things will change, the season is very long. We’re delighted with the players’ willingness and work ethic, as well as their competitiveness. We’re competing well in all matches against our rivals. In these circumstances we’re being competitive, and the run of results will soon change and we’ll enjoy victories”.
Antoñín’s debut
“The debut of Antoñín at La Rosaleda is very positive. He once again participated effectively on the attack and generated danger. This is what we ask of our attackers, the capacity to create danger”.
