“I have to say that the result is positive,” Ž.Sopičius began.
– Of course, during the match I was unhappy and emotional on the bench, but it’s not easy to play on this artificial turf. Of course, that’s not an excuse, but this pitch is one of the smallest I’ve ever seen. They play with long passes and second balls, so they have to fight for them.
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In the first half, we dominated and played good football without real chances, because in the final third of the pitch you have to create something special, and they kept 10 players behind the ball. On the other hand, we don’t want to push the players too much into attack, because we know they play with long passes.
Finally, we have to stick together, because now we will play in our stadium and I remain positive that we will manage to overcome this stage. It is also very important to me that we will have five training days.”
The coach also shared comments about the opponents’ play.
“No, they certainly didn’t surprise me. I knew they would defend and wait for opportunities. Naturally, we can’t press them for the whole match, and they are used to playing on this small pitch. We played well, not perfectly, but well, so I think the result is positive, and now we will give our all to overcome this stage,” added the strategist from Croatia.
“I think everything is positive, because it’s not easy for any team to play here, especially on artificial turf. The weather conditions were also different, as it was windy throughout the match,” echoed A.Tolordava.
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– They play differently and have prepared many set pieces, throw-ins from the sideline, and long passes. The pitch is also smaller, so I think, yes, the result is positive, because we will have the second leg at home and now everything will be in our hands.”
The Žalgiris player also spoke about the different halves of the match.
“Such is the match – in the first half we tried to press them. Of course, we had opportunities to do so in the second half as well, but that’s football – sometimes you have to play like that and calm down. That’s normal. We expected their play to be like this, we watched videos and analyzed their game, so we were prepared,” added the “Kauno Žalgiris” legionnaire from Sakartvelo.
We remind you that due to the Pitbull concert, the return match next week will be played not at the Darius and Girėnas stadium, but in Jonava.
The fight for a place in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will take place on July 29 at 6:50 PM at the Jonava City Central Stadium, Žeimių str. 17, Jonava. Tickets can be purchased at kakava.lt.
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