The coach reacts to the 1-1 draw against Gil Vicente FC

Following Sporting CP's 1-1 draw in Barcelos, coach Rui Borges gave his analysis of the match against Gil Vicente FC.

The result
"It all ends up being subjective, about the 'ifs', but we could have made it 0-2 to kill the game off and prevent Gil Vicente FC from growing in confidence. We started the second half very well, and in the first half we controlled play. Gil Vicente FC tried transitions and set pieces, where they created more danger, and we managed to break their press, but we lacked some quality. We scored from an attack that we should have tried more often, and then, in the second half, we started very well, but from the 20th minute onwards we let the game open up and Gil Vicente FC launched counter-attacks, which they are dangerous from."

The performance
"We had 64% possession and we had quality in the initial stages of the build-up, but we lacked more quality in the final third. Even more so in the first half, because in the second half we started very well and were very strong. Afterwards, we should have worn down Gil Vicente FC more, but we lost possession and allowed them to start counter-attacks, but the danger they provided was even greater from set pieces. We won't always finish our chances well, but the team were proactive."

Solutions to counter the way the opponent closed down the central areas
"The important thing was to break their initial press and establish ourselves in the opposition midfield, to force them to stay further away from our goal. We could have varied things more with longer balls instead of low passes which went through many players. That was lacking more in the first half -more than speed. The first half was less dynamic, the second half was better, but within what was asked of us, the team had a good game. We were penalised by what happened in the final part of the game."

The many players out
"It's not an excuse. We could have made it 0-2 and then we would be talking about something else, but we didn't manage to do that. We let a team who are having a great season believe in their chances until the end, at home. The sending-off affected the game and made the opposition believe even more. I'm not going to lament the players who were missing. I want everyone available, of course, and it was important, but the team fought well and had quality. There's no point in thinking about who's not here. I'm already thinking about the game against Vitória SC in the Taça da Liga, because I don't have Inácio due to his sending off and we don't have defenders available."

The effect of the draw on the top of the table
"Last year we had an eight-point advantage and dropped down to second place. There's a long way to go and we're only focused on what we can control and do."

Points lost late on against SC Braga and Gil Vicente FC
"These are two specific games. Here we were down to ten men and Gil Vicente FC, in those following minutes, grew in strength and deserved to get the draw, while we were still organising ourselves. With SC Braga it was a penalty, a move in the area. We ended up being penalised, but that's the nature of the game."