The Espanyol coach, Diego Martínez, highlighted this Sunday after the victory against Elche (0-1) that his team knew how to wait for their moment and be competitive to take the three points. “I said it was going to be a difficult and complex game,” commented the coach, who recalled that Espanyol had to “reinvent itself” with players outside their usual position and with several rookies, given the number of casualties they had accumulated.
The coach appreciated that Darder scored the winning goal because he revealed that he had discomfort in the soleus. “The word commitment should be accompanied by a photo of Darder, someone who represents our values,” he said.
“We made it clear that we came to win,” said Diego Martínez about his team’s staging, although he admitted that Espanyol suffered “especially in the air”.
“It was a game that we had to reinvent ourselves. The three points are going to help us a lot and the team has deserved it throughout the year. When a team is down there it is very difficult to play. When one is not confident, it costs a lot. Today is not the time to talk about the game, after the team’s effort and in the conditions we were in, ”he explained.
The coach praised Sergi Darder. “The goal is scored by a player who represents our values ??and who should not have played because of a problem on his own. If you look for commitment in the dictionary, Darder’s photo appears ”.
“Elche competes very well and is showing it,” added the coach, who positively assessed that Espanyol managed to leave “a clean sheet.”
The coach assured that football was not being generous with the Catalan team this season and was pleased with the good level shown by the goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco in his official debut. “He has been fine, like the whole team, in difficult conditions that have forced us to reinvent ourselves,” he said.
