Head coach of Czech side Viktoria Miroslav Koubek commented on his team's 2-1 victory over Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in the first match of the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, which took place yesterday in Kosice.
"The first half was a failure for us. We knew that Kryvbas is a quality opponent with strong players. In the first half, we did not cope: there were a lot of chances at our goal.
We had to make changes in defense to avoid conceding even more goals. Our substitutions worked - we scored a quick goal. We had a physical advantage throughout the match. Our substitutions led to pressure, which made Kryvbas make more mistakes and prevented them from playing positional football.
Our pressure was working, and that's very good. In the second half, we did not concede, which we are very happy about. I would like to mention goalkeeper Tvrdon. This is his first match and he did a great job. I hope this will be the beginning for him. I can also recognize our entire team, the victory is well deserved. But I will also say good words to Kryvbas. This is a fighting team that is very difficult to play against. I am sure they will prove themselves. We have to play very carefully in the second match.
I expect that our home walls will help us. I count on the support of the fans. We will make every effort to reach the next round. But we know that Kryvbas never gives up, so it will be a tough match. We need to intercept a lot of balls to prevent the opponent from developing sharp attacks. "It's important not to give Kryvbas any space because they have good midfielders. Lunev, Kuzik, Mykytyshyn are strong players," said Koubek.