"Hayduk" head coach: "Zira" had no real chance

"We were under pressure in the second half. We came out with a lot of young players. We couldn't control the game as we wanted. But the opponent had no real chances either."

Idman.biz reports with reference to Telegraf that the head coach of Croatian "Hayduk" Gonzalo Garcia said this at a press conference after the return match of the II qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, in which they defeated "Zira" 2:1 at home in extra time.

The 42-year-old specialist said that the Azerbaijani representative has very good players: "The opponent is a physically strong team. We were losing almost all one-on-one fights. Yes, Marko Livaja was free in many situations, but we were not good in decisive passes and crosses. Due to our losses, we were under pressure on the field. We had to recover, otherwise it would be bad. The game had to be finished earlier. We knew it would be difficult, but I didn't expect this level of tension during the game. I was angry at times."

According to Garcia, the players were tired and stressed after the main time of the game: "Of course, it was difficult. The "Polyud" stadium is amazing, but people expect a lot. Young players feel it. During the break, I told my players that we approach certain episodes well, and fans appreciate it when they see something on the field. I also told them that we need to be patient and that we will have goal opportunities. We were good from time to time. We need to improve a lot. I told my players that they don't need to be under constant pressure to win, we will control the situation on the field. The team has not yet been formed. If we want to be competitive, we need to get stronger."

It should be noted that "Zira" drew with "Hayduk" in the first match in Baku - 1:1. The same result was recorded in the return match, so extra time was played.

Idman.biz