João Brandão: “We lacked aggression in the final third” | OneFootball

In the ninth round of the Segunda Liga, FC Porto B was defeated in Oliveira de Azeméis by the local team, 1-0.

After the match, João Brandão stated that the Porto side started “very strong in the first half” and had “the game completely under control” when they conceded “a goal against the run of play that weighed heavily on the players emotionally.” “In the second half, we didn’t start as we wanted or as we should have,” lamented the coach, who felt that “much more aggressiveness in the final third” was needed and that they should “play for 90 minutes as we did in the first 45.”

First half summary“We started very strong in the first half, knowing very well how to distinguish the moments to attract and to accelerate through the wide areas and through the forward pass to the striker. We managed to create several opportunities and get close a number of times, but at certain moments the final pass wasn’t the best, which prevented us from maintaining our attacking momentum. The game was completely under control and we conceded a goal against the run of play, which emotionally weighed heavily on the players.

And the second half“In the second half, we didn’t start as we wanted or as we should have. We needed to move the ball faster and be much more aggressive in the final third. We had to shoot more on goal, and the times we got close to their area needed to result in shots and chances, but we continued to be the team that got closest to the goal. Oliveirense dropped their block and opted for dangerous transitions with quick breaks, but that never unsettled us. What did unsettle us were one or two easy losses, one or two easy passes that then didn’t allow us to maintain our attacking momentum. The strong first half remains, but it’s not enough, we have to play 90 minutes as we did in the first 45.”

The purpose of B teams“Players are moving from the A team to the B team, from the B team to the A team, and from the under-19s to the B team. That is the main goal of the B team, but when we get here, we step onto the pitch to win and we are not satisfied with the result. We are satisfied with the work some players are doing and with the fact that we are constantly bringing up players from the juniors, as happened again today, but then there is the process within the 90 minutes and the development of the players and the team in those same 90 minutes.”

Lack of maturity“We want to go after more points. I want to highlight the growth of some players and also of the team, which has been much more consistent and much more competitive, but it’s necessary to have the maturity to react to adversities and to the circumstances that arise during the game, as happened today with the goal we conceded clearly against the run of play.”

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