“It’s a hard blow”: Medrán’s self-criticism after Colón loss in Resistencia | OneFootball

The 1-0 defeat to Chaco For Ever hit Colón de Santa Fe hard. The frustration is not only about the three points dropped in Resistencia, but also about the clear footballing setback compared to the solid display they had shown the previous week against Defensores de Belgrano. Head coach Ezequiel Medrán owned the collective disappointment and gave a detailed assessment of the team’s current situation.

A two-faced match and a fatal mistake

“It’s a hard blow because we had different expectations based on what the team had been building in this final stretch of the first half of the season. We wanted to impose our game and take control of the match,” the coach admitted as he left the dressing room.

In his analysis of the game, Medrán clearly distinguished between the two halves: “I feel that in the first half we showed good rhythm, good intensity, and created dangerous chances and scoring opportunities. In the second half, we couldn’t find a way through. The game flattened out and we couldn’t get out of that situation.”

He also detailed the chain of lapses that led to the only goal of the afternoon: “The play started from a set piece in our favor that we didn’t execute well. Then came a counterattack that seemed under control, the foul happened, and they took advantage of that set piece to score.”

Conclusions from the first half of the season: being contenders with ups and downs

Despite the frustration at the end, the tactical leader stressed that Colón remain among the frontrunners, though he did not avoid self-criticism over the points squandered along the way. “Today is a match we have to take responsibility for because we didn’t resolve it the way we wanted. Now we have to carry out a deep analysis of what this first half of the season left us and draw conclusions. The tournament has shown us that if we want to stay near the top, we have to fine-tune certain things,” he said.

Looking back over the semester as a whole, the coach mixed satisfaction with high standards: “At times we competed really well. We were at the top and were one of the main contenders in the championship. But there were also draws and matches where we felt we left points on the road.”

The transfer window and the need to strengthen

With the break underway, Medrán was categorical in saying that the current squad needs new faces to face the decisive stage of the Primera Nacional, a stretch where mistakes will be costly. “It’s clear that we have to strengthen. At the beginning of the year we carried out a major rebuild of the squad and, as always happens, there were successes and mistakes. Now we have to identify where Colón needs to improve,” he warned.

Without giving any clues about specific names, the coach confirmed that talks with the club’s leadership and sporting director are already underway: “The club is working on bringing in players. If we want to take control of the tournament, there is no margin for error in the second half of the season.”

The search for consistency and the message to the fans

Regarding the understandable demands from the Sabalero environment after every misstep, Medrán showed empathy with the fans’ feelings and emphasized the enormous responsibility on their shoulders. “There is a city full of hope, and we feel we are in debt. We know we are doing a great job and that there is commitment, but also that we have shortcomings we must identify and correct,” he acknowledged maturely.

To close, the coach insisted that the great footballing challenge for the second half of the competition will be to eradicate the team’s inconsistency: “What hurts the most is not having been able to repeat what we did so well against Defensores de Belgrano. We were looking for that consistency and we didn’t achieve it. Now we have to grow stronger to compete better in the second part of the tournament,” he concluded.

Colón’s squad will now enjoy a few days off before resuming formal activity, a period during which the coaching staff will assess performances, await new signings, and seek to iron out the flaws that were exposed in northern Argentina.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.