«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 regression compared to the solid showing they had the previous week against Defensores de Belgrano. Head coach Ezequiel Medrán acknowledged the collective disappointment and offered a detailed snapshot of the team’s current situation.

A game of two halves 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 assessment of the match, Medrán clearly distinguished the two halves: “I feel that in the first half we showed good rhythm, good intensity, and created chances to get forward and score. 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 explained 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: prominence with ups and downs

Despite the frustration at the end, the tactical leader highlighted that Colón remains among the top spots, though he did not shy away from self-criticism over the points squandered along the way. “Today is a match we have to take responsibility for because we didn’t solve it the way we wanted to. Now we have to carry out a deep analysis of what this half of the season has left us and draw conclusions. The tournament has shown us that if we want to stay near the top, we have to improve certain things,” he analyzed.

Looking back on the semester as a whole, the coach alternated between satisfaction and high demands: “At times we competed really well. We were at the top and were one of the protagonists of the championship. But there were also draws and matches where we felt we left points on the road.”

The transfer market and the need to get stronger

With the break now underway, Medrán was emphatic 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 need reinforcements. At the start 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 become stronger,” 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 to bring 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 of the Sabalero environment after every misstep, Medrán showed empathy with the fans’ feelings and stressed 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 admitted maturely.

To close, the coach insisted that the big footballing challenge for the second half of the competition will be to eliminate 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.

The Colón squad will now enjoy a few days off before returning to formal activity, a period during which the coaching staff will evaluate performances, wait for new signings, and look to smooth 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.