Famalicão’s coach praises the reaction in the first half, but laments the lack of tenacity in attack.
In the aftermath of their elimination from the Portuguese Cup at the hands of FC Porto at the Dragão stadium (4-1), Hugo Oliveira expressed pride in Famalicão’s performance. However, in a press conference on Thursday night, the Minho team’s coach lamented his players’ inability to keep up with the pace of the Dragons.
Analysis of the elimination round
It was a competitive game, the result doesn’t reflect what happened. We were true to our ideas, against a strong opponent that takes advantage of opportunities at key moments. We didn’t capitalize on those moments. We didn’t finish as we should have. We leave bitter. We have a very capable group, the changes (to the starting eleven) were based on what we believe is best for the team. FC Porto has the power to turn any moment into an opportune attack.
“We need to choose our attacking, retreating, and restarting moments more carefully. The opponent was more aggressive. In the first game against FC Porto (for the League) we didn’t have the peace of mind we should have, failing to wait for the right moment to release the free man. We must be true to our principles. Tonight we were better.
Pride beyond defeat
“I’ll be honest with you, I feel proud. Because we conceded early at the Dragão stadium, but we wanted to draw the opponent out, which is only within the reach of a team with personality. We weren’t afraid, we didn’t just kick the ball forward. We continued to be ourselves. FC Porto’s goals came from set pieces, or from turnovers. It’s important that we learn from this, that’s our path.
