MADRID, 25 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of the women’s Athletic Club, Iraia Iturregi, regretted this Wednesday that her players “had not” been “well in any facet of the game” during the semifinals of the Copa de la Reina, being eliminated after their defeat (0-4) against against Real Madrid in a match played at the Butarque Municipal Stadium (Leganés).
“We have not been good in any facet of the game, neither in the defensive phase nor in the offensive phase, and in the end the goals are a consequence of it. The second goal is a failure to score in a lateral center and the third goal is a situation in which that we let a player run without opposition until the near post shoots off alone”, he assessed at a press conference.
“I think Weir’s goal was in the 6th or 7th minute and it’s true that it hurt us because we had talked about making the game long, trying to ensure that nothing happened in the first minutes because we were interested in having a long game. But That upsets your plans; not only the goal, but then also the change of Valdezate”, added Iturregi about the ugly knee injury of his central defender.
“It annoys me because I think we haven’t been able to show ourselves as we are on the field, because we had been playing very good games defensively. Yes, it was costing us offensively, but today we have shown a lot of fragility defensively as well and, against an opponent as effective as Real Madrid, with such decisive players, we can’t give them so many facilities”, underlined the ‘leona’ coach.
Despite everything, Iturregi praised the participation of Zubieta and Landaluze in the rear, since “in other games they have done really well”. “Of course, when we have had a lot of casualties and just all in the same position, of course it influences because we all know the importance of the central defense position,” he said about it.
“Today we were not very forceful, but I would not blame only the centrals. We have been not very forceful at a collective level. Influencing, of course, influences, but in the end the team has to adapt to what is happening during the season and on the field game”, argued the Athletic coach.
“We have even considered changing the structure of the game, but we had no options either and that perhaps also limits you when it comes to looking for alternatives to go behind on the scoreboard. But hey, it is what it is, we have not been able to adapt. Given that adversity, we have tried to find solutions, but they have not been the correct ones, they have not worked out for us and there is no need to look for excuses”, he reflected.
In addition, Iturregi made an analysis of the entire rojiblanca season. “In the case of the League, we had set ourselves a very ambitious objective, which was to improve what we had done the previous year, because we have suffered losses within the important team and we already knew that we were starting with a very young team,” he said.
“Yes, it is true that we are five points away from achieving that objective. Am I satisfied? No, because I have set a very ambitious objective and of course I personally would have liked to achieve it. But it is also true that we have not stayed so far,” Iturregi said.
“In the Cup, right now the feeling I have is very bad. Why? Bearing in mind, for example, the last game we played against Real Madrid and how we did compete against them, well today we haven’t been able to compete against them in that way. So my feeling today is bad,” he stressed.
“I’m sure that in a few days the balance that we make is that we have reached the Cup semifinals and that the experience of these very young players will surely serve them in the future,” Iturregi concluded the press conference from the Municipal Stadium of Butarque.