Marcelino: “It’s a victory which makes me feel good”

Athletic Club head coach Marcelino Garcia Toral admitted he was very happy with the way in which the Lions fought tooth and nail for their 2-3 win over Cádiz CF on Thursday night.

Los Rojiblancos had a 0-3 lead at half-time, but they were made to sweat for the victory in the second 45, with the home side upping the intensity and Athletic falling to ten men in the 72nd minute when Mikel Vesga received a second yellow card.

“We were very effective in the first half and we played an excellently,” Marcelino said at his post match press conference. “We still have doubts as to whether the fourth goal should’ve been given, it seems so, but it wasn’t.

“In general we were clinical, played well and took control of the match. Then in the second half, Cádiz went for it more, they increased their intensity a lot and I think we allowed them to do that. Maybe we could have been a little more forceful in clearing the area when it comes to their first goal.”

He continued: “We had the match under control and then we had a player sent off, which I think was unfair. It made life very difficult for us. We held our own, but our opponents had chances because they were getting lots of players into our half.

“We had problems with their wingers. Once they scored the second, they really went for the equaliser and had two more clear chances.”

Marcelino said he was especially pleased with how Athletic responded after last week’s home loss against RC Celta Vigo, saying: “It’s a victory which makes me feel good. In many matches, we’ve created a lot of chances but not managed to score.

“Today we had a nervy finish but we held on to win. I must congratulate the players, I’m proud of their work and happy with the result.”