Garitano: “The team kept trying until the end”
Garitano: “The team kept trying until the end”
Gaizka Garitano offers his analyis after the defeat at the José Zorrilla
Athletic Club manager Gaizka Garitano lamented his side’s inability to hit the back of the net during their 2-1 LaLiga Santander defeat against Real Valladolid.
Athletic had 70 per cent of the possession and 17 shots compared to Real Valladolid’s seven efforts, but the lions couldn’t get past Jordi Masip.
“We need a lot of chances to score. It doesn’t matter if we’re better in some phases, or during most of the match. We’re missing opportunities that we didn’t miss last season,” Garitano said at his post-match press conference. “Looking at the statistics, we had more possession and chances.”
The Athletic boss higlighted the rival’s accuracy in front of goal.
“They rarely troubled us. But on the few occasions they did, they scored,” Garitano continued. “It’s not normal. Over a long run that would be reversed, but we’re not managing to do it.”
He added that Athletic lacked runs in behind the defence in the first, adding: “In the first 30 minutes we had a lot of possession without creating too much danger.
“From then onwards, we started getting into the area and creating more chances, especially in the second half.”
“The team kept trying until the end, but it wasn’t to be,” Garitano said about the attitude shown by his team. “We lost an opportunity to keep our good run going.”