Garitano: “Tomorrow we must train and get back up”

Athletic Club’s manager Gaizka Garitano, talked to the media in the press conference room at Mendizorrotza after his teams’ slip-up against Deportivo Alavés, in which Rodrigo Ely scored the 2-1 goal for the hosts in the 91^st minute. “It’s a very cruel defeat: we weren’t having any troubles, it looked as if the game would end up in a draw, but there’s a foul on the wing and they get to score.”

After a first half in which the game was practically played on their opponents’ half, “we had chances and we didn’t suffer much,” Garitano considers that “both goals could have been easily prevented: the first in a counter-attack and the second from a set piece, the main two weapons Alavés have,” as he had forewarned yesterday in the press conference held at Lezama. He also commented on the nine corner-kicks taken by Athletic Club, “well defended” by the team from Vitoria according to him.

When asked about the physical condition of his players, Garitano admitted that “in the last 20-25 minutes we lowered our pace, but when you lose, the feeling of tiredness is higher. Tomorrow we have to train with the strongest possible motivation and get back up”.