S. Vrevenas: "Nothing is finished yet"

2024-08-08 10:03 © fk-panevezys.lt

"Panevėžys" football club played two different halves at the LFF stadium on Tuesday and bounced back in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League against Tel Aviv's "Maccabi". The first encounter between the champions of Lithuania and Israel ended with a victory for the guests, with a score of 2:1.

The coach of the team from the capital of Aukštaitija, Stijn Vreven, reviewed the match and was not satisfied with the two such different halves but added that not everything is finished in this series.

The return match will take place on August 15, Thursday, in the city of Sombathely, Hungary.

"The match was twofold. Of course, the start of the game was dramatic; we were down 0:2 after 9 minutes. We were doing something wrong, we were not prepared to play against this opponent at this level, and we conceded goals very easily. I tell this to the players, and I will say it again now. I always take responsibility for what happens in the matches, but even if the tactics were that poor, we should not concede two goals in 9 minutes. That is too easy because the energy level is full. We could defend better; the desire, heart, and passion can be at their highest point. If you concede two goals in 9 minutes, it's hard to get back into the game because confidence drops down – that's what you saw in the first half."