After the win against KAA Gent in the quarterfinals of the Croky Cup, we gleaned reactions from Hans Vanaken, Simon Mignolet and coach Ronny Deila.
Simon Mignolet: "Overjoyed that we are in the semifinals"
Club qualified for the semifinals of the Croky Cup at the expense of AA Gent by taking their only chance of the match. Despite Blauw-Zwart's meager second half, goalkeeper Mignolet was very pleased with the result.
"At the end there were a few more hot stands in front of our goal," the Bruges goalkeeper spoke a few minutes after the whistle. "But I didn't have to do much more work tonight besides a few more high crosses. I think we played a good game. I had mentioned before the game in our locker room that we had to be on our toes from the kickoff, because in the past we have started another game like this one that left us trailing 2-0 after just twenty minutes of play. I think we handled this cup game very well with a lot of intensity. Now we were able to get the lead after about twenty minutes and then we continued that line by being hard in the duels and winning the second ball. That's what you have to do in a game against Gent, which is always a duel on the edge."
"Obviously it is not easy in such a game of all or nothing right after the winter break, but we made it and hence I am overjoyed that we are in the semifinals. It may not have been eye-catching yet, but that is now our twelfth game in a row that we did not lose with a lot of times also keeping the zero. In the cup only the result counts and that is going through. Club handled that match in a very mature way and actually in the second half we should have been able to make more use of the space that came, but it's just the qualification that counts and I'm very proud of that tonight. And whether it will be Anderlecht or Union in that semifinal doesn't really matter much, because that too will be another real cup game." (FDC)
Hans Vanaken: "It's just a good win."
A glowing captain looked back on the hard-fought quarterfinal in and against AA Gent.
"We started well. You know they normally start brightly, but now we were," the captain began his analysis.
"We also scored in that good period. We do go into the analysis of this match, because our second half was not good. They made it a real cup match, but we should have prevented that by making that second one."
AA Gent went in search of the equalizer. "There was space in front of us and we should have taken advantage of that to score the second goal, because that makes soccer easier."
It was a game in which few chances could be noted. "We still had some smaller opportunities, but they don't create much either. It's just a good win. We did our job and I'm looking forward to the semifinals," Vanaken concluded. (EV)
Ronny Deila: "Difficult match, but happy to move on from the cup"
Ronny Deila, after the win against KAA Gent, was obviously satisfied with the victory, but also honest about the game delivered.
"It was a very difficult and balanced match," the coach began his account. "In the first 25 minutes I thought we were the best team and in that period we also scored a deserved goal. Then we lost the momentum and they came into the game more and more. We lost the ball too much and they put pressure well. However, we played the long ball too much and got the leather back quickly. Nevertheless, we didn't really get any big chances against in the first half. The second half we started the same way and I thought we did good things. At the end we dropped back too much and saw off. However, we also did that well and worked hard for each other even though we weren't playing well at that point. That's also an important thing and so we got another clean sheet. The wingers worked hard for the team and the defense was very steady and at the end we again had a goalie who made an important save when needed. So again...it was a tough match, but I am very happy that we are continuing in the cup. Maybe not in the nicest way, but that doesn't matter now," concluded a satisfied Bruges coach. (TM)