We will want to win in Cluj and not rely on others, said Rada. What did he say about the match against Alkmaar?

Jablonec coach Petr Rada evaluated the club’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the Conference League after the home draw with AZ Alkmaar. Which Dutch team did coach Pascal Jansen compare Jablonec to?

Jablonec took the lead against Alkmaar in the 7th minute, when Kratochvil scored after a pass from Krob. The home side had the upper hand for the rest of the first half, outshooting their opponents and taking more corners. In the 44th minute, however, they failed to contain Alkmaar’s attack and cashed in after a Hakon Evjen shot.

“We played against the strongest opponent, probably the best team in our group. We took the lead, it was a big advantage for us,” the Jablonec coach admitted in his post-match interview.

Jablonec surprised the visitors’ coach with their approach to the game. However, Jansen was not satisfied with the turf his charges had to play on.

“Jablonec reminded me a lot of NEC Nijmegen in our Dutch league, it is actually an exact copy of it. The northerners are tough and don’t lay down their arms. Their goal was a bit surprising for me. But even after the equaliser it was clear that Jablonec are not giving up. They still wanted to fight and didn’t give up. I was surprised by that. But the pitch was not very good,” said Pascal Jansen in an interview.

After a goalless second half, Jablonec grabbed a valuable point and will enter the final round of Group D in a relatively good position. If they win in Cluj and Alkmaar defeat Randers, Jablonec are assured of qualification. In certain circumstances, a draw would be enough, but it would still be necessary for the Dutch club to get three points.

“It’s all speculation now. We will want to score in Cluj. After that, we will see how Alkmaar played against Randers in the last round,” the coach nicknamed the Colonel is clear.

Jablonec has already played one match with Cluj in the regular group, beating them 1:0 on 16 September at home. Václav Pilař scored from a penalty and the visitors played practically the entire second half with ten players.

And what chance do you give Jablonec for promotion?

Source:: FK Jablonec