Alfred Schreuder: “Can live with this result”

“Taking into account both halves, I can live with this result", the coach started out. "I reckon we really should have been 2-0 up after ten minutes, with Noa's chance through on goal, and that penalty we didn't get. I just cannot understand why this wasn't a spot kick, I could really do with some sort of explanation here. The VAR was in place, and everyone could clearly see that Charles was shoved in that cross, denying him a good touch to the ball. For the rest of the first half, I reckon we played well at times, but in the second half we were sloppier too. Anderlecht was also looking for their chances on the break, and we knew they were going to play like this, but we still allowed them some chances. We also had some opportunities to make something of it in the turnaround, and it must be said that we defended really well during a good portion of that second half too. Just look at Mechele, who played a tremendous game today.”
The coach also talked about Nsoki. “He was having a great game in the first seventy minutes, but then he made a mistake twice in a short time, and got booked. I chose not to take any risks and I knew Jack (Hendry) was also capable of handling their striker, both when it comes to speed and posture. I just had to react.”
Alfred Schreuder also brushed upon the substitutions. “As to Rits, we still have to look into things. It's too early days to be drawing any conclusions, but when Mats asks to be taken off, you just know it's not good. He immediately felt something was wrong, but wanted to give it a try still. We now have to wait and see. After that I also substituted Odoi and De Ketelaere, but for no specific reason. Eder (Balanta) has been coming on fine in the past couple of weeks, and he is always an asset in that position. He played well today too. Sargis (Adamyan) also came on. you don't always have to see who's coming off, but pay more attention to who's coming on. We just wanted to bring a bit more energy to the table in order to keep putting pressure on Anderlecht, and with that in mind, Adamyan fits the bill. To be hones, I thought Noa was playing a better game than Charles today, which is why I made that choice. We had a hard time creating danger in the second half, but Anderlehct has a fine outfit too, and they have been having a great season. We are playing another top team. As to our own performance, I reckon we could be more precisein possession. I'm not too worried, however. We are taking it one game at a time. We'll now be facing Union twice. First we need to recover from this game and analyse our performance. Then we can start gearing up towards those games. It's a special thing, these play-offs, and it's in our favour, although I can imagine it's not that evident for Union. As for us, it's great, with the special atmosphere etc. You can reallty tell you're playing for the prizes now”, Club's coach concluded. (TM)