I have to take a bow to Panathinaikos, they showed they have a lot of strength, said Trpišovský after their progress

Prague Slavia proved it. Although the rematch with Panathinaikos was no easy task, after a 1:1 draw, they will advance to the final round where they will play Raków from Poland. What did coach Jindřich Trpišovský say after the game?

The 2:0 lead from the opening match seemed comfortable and many of the Slavic fans had no doubt about the progression. But even they were definitely worried during the match.

Slavia let their opponents have many chances and they can thank their teammates for the goalless half to the excellent Aleš Mandous. He cashed in after an hour of play, but after the goal the Greek team didn’t get many chances and Václav Jurečka equalised in the end.

“I am happy that we managed to advance, it was not easy. Panathinaikos showed the great strength they have in the team, the environment and the coach. They reacted great to the course of the first game, we had a huge problem in the first half with the things they prepared for us.

I have to take my hat off to Panathinaikos, they showed that they have a lot of strength. Itwas a tougher game for us than some of the Conference games last season,” said coach Jindřich Trpišovský at the press conference.

The first half was definitely not to the coach’s liking. Slavia almost lost the game in the second minute and in that case the rest of the game would have been very difficult.

“We gave the opponent a boost by making a big mistake in the second minute when we didn’t catch a simple situation. It was the worst thing that could have happened. We came into an environment like that and right from the start we helped them to the first glitch like that, and even more pressure. I think Mandy did a great job holding us up, he was the key to us only getting one goal and being able to finish it off,” he added.

The draw must be taken with all ten hands and they can now prepare for their play-off opponent, which after Trnava’s elimination will be Polish side Raków Częstochowa, for whom Czech national team stopper Tomáš Petrášek is currently injured.

“They are from a lower league with the same coach, they have a perfect defence, it will be a different style of double match. Now it was difficult for us defensively and in terms of trying to disrupt the opponent’s game, against Raków we will face an opponent with a very solid defensive game and a great mentality,” Trpišovský concluded.

Source:: SK Slavia Praha