Santa Clara boss on draw: swipe at Benfica, "We never gave up" | OneFootball

Against all odds and playing with only 10 men, Santa Clara managed to freeze the Estádio da Luz after achieving a draw in the final minutes. In the aftermath of the match, Vasco Matos, coach of the Azoreans, considered it a fair result and stressed that the best scoring opportunities were from his team and not from Benfica.

In statements to the local press, the coach who managed to put an end to the invincibility of the Club da Luz admitted that his pupils played eye to eye: “We knew we were going to face a great team, even with the setbacks we played a great game, the best scoring opportunities are ours”.

Next, he had words of appreciation for his players, assuming that, given the setbacks, the squad knew they could return home with some points: “Everyone is to be congratulated. I said before the game that we had to work hard to take points”.

On the other hand, still about the match itself, Vasco Matos stressed that Santa Clara, even reduced to 10 men, never gave up, and was ultimately rewarded: “Even with the expulsion, the team did not give up and was always looking to try to take points here, within our organization and strategy. The point makes us extremely happy”.

Finally, he explained that the key to success was the strategy, stating that, knowing the strengths of the opponent, it was necessary not to make mistakes: “We had to have a very strong start in terms of organization, we knew that Benfica was going to have a strong start. We knew we had to have a well-set strategy. The players interpreted the strategy very well, with a huge sacrifice and a spirit of mutual aid”.

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