Another bitter defeat for Blue and Black, this time biting the dust in Norway. We had a talk with Vanaken, De Cuyper and coach Deila.
Hans Vanaken: "Happens far too often"
A last-gasp goal lead to a 2-1 defeat against Molde for Club. A visibly disappointed Hans Vanaken reflected on the game. “It’s unfortunate, another goal in the last minutes. Such things shouldn’t happen, but we’ve been saying that so often this season. A 1-1 scoreline wouldn’t have been a bad result to take to the second leg. After our goal, you think it’s okay, but then we run into that one counter. It really shouldn’t be so easy for them to score from those long balls. Suddenly, they’re two against one, so something isn’t right.”
This is yet another late conceded goal. “We need to review the footage and see where it went wrong. It’s good that we want to attack, but we also need to ensure we’re well-prepared defensively when we lose possession.” “We’re in a difficult situation right now,” he continued. “We have to start somewhere to turn things around, but it’s hard to pinpoint an exact cause because it happens to us too often. Like I said, we find ourselves two against one on a counter, and that really shouldn’t happen.”
“Our first half was really poor. We didn’t apply enough pressure, allowing them to play through easily. In the second half, we were more dangerous and entered their penalty area more frequently.”
Next week brings the return leg at Jan Breydel. “It’s not over just yet. In the second half, we showed that we’re better, but we need to learn from those transition moments. With the crowd behind us next week, we should be capable of turning it around and qualifying, " Club's skipper concluded, disappointed but determined.
Maxim De Cuyper: "Real blow"
After the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Molde, Maxim De Cuyper addressed the press with visible emotion. “This loss hits hard, so I can’t be happy about it at all, and I’m standing here with a heavy feeling,” began the Bruges youth product. “It’s almost incomprehensible because week after week, the same thing happens to us. In recent weeks, too much has gone wrong in that regard. With just a few minutes left on the clock, you should simply hold onto that 1-1 score, but the way we ultimately concede, once again, is very foolish and unnecessary. What went wrong? We discussed an initial analysis in the locker room just now, and apparently, a lot went awry. But once again, we can’t retain possession of the ball, and we find ourselves vulnerable to a razor-sharp counterattack. Do I take some responsibility for that second conceded goal? Partially, perhaps I was too high up during that phase. It’s just frustrating that we keep having the same conversations.”
However, De Cuyper remains hopeful about continuing their European journey. “This is a massive blow, but fortunately, we have the home match against OHL on Sunday, so we don’t have much time to dwell on what happened tonight. And yes, next week brings the return leg, and we need to set things right. With the support of our fans, we must go all out from the very first minute, and nothing is lost just yet.” (MV)
Ronny Deila: "Highly frustrating"
Coach Deila was understandably a disappointed coach after the defeat in the dying moments of the match.
“I reckon we had good control over the game until the 92nd minute, so this is incredibly frustrating,” began the coach’s analysis. “A 1-1 draw against Molde would have been a positive result to take back to Bruges, but then we made it difficult on ourselves again. That late goal frustrates me a lot. We’ve discussed this so many times, and I can’t emphasize enough how often we’ve been through these situations in recent weeks. Perhaps if you focus too much on it, it creeps into your mind. In previous matches, we were better balanced and had more players in our own penalty area than the opponents. However, today, we were naive and foolish by pushing forward with too many players. We needed better communication and organization to regain that balance and hold onto the 1-1 score. Unfortunately, we conceded an easy counterattack, and the consequences were significant. It’s immature, and far too often, we lose games in the last minutes. Even then, we usually had control over the match when it happened. This urgently needs to change because it can’t continue like this. I made some substitutions in the second half, and we had control of the game. We even scored the equalizer, so I disagree with the notion that the substitutions didn’t work out well. We also need to respect the opponent; after all, we’re playing in a European competition. It’s not easy to win against teams like this, as Legia Warsaw recently demonstrated. So, we must remain humble and acknowledge that the 1-1 result was positive, giving us a good starting point for the return leg. Now, despite making it harder for ourselves, we still have a good chance to progress. I hope we can channel the feelings from tonight into energy for the return match so we can still advance to the quarter-finals. I already expected tonight’s match to be closely contested because Molde is a challenging team to play against. Over the two legs, we should indeed be stronger than this team, and I strongly believe in that. However, I noticed that we were weak in ball possession during the first half. The first conceded goal happened after we lost the ball, and they swiftly launched a counterattack. That was our biggest issue in the first half. We couldn’t retain possession and lacked offensive momentum. In the second half, we had more control of the ball and played more in their half. Although we didn’t create many clear-cut chances, we kept getting closer. Towards the end, we were awarded a penalty, allowing us to equalize. Consequently, we had better control and grew into the game during the second half. I won’t comment on the efforts, but it’s about being bold on the ball and taking more risks. We improved in that aspect during the second half, but I agree with the supporters that they’re disappointed we still lost here. The result isn’t satisfactory; it should have ended 1-1. We need to be much more clinical, disciplined, and organized in these crucial moments. I take responsibility for this once again, and it frustrates me and makes me angry. It has happened again, and now we must take action, "concluded Club's T1.(TM)