After the #GÓRLGD match, coach John Carver met with journalists to share his thoughts on Sunday’s game. Here is the full transcript of the press conference.
The coach’s comments on Sunday’s clash in Zabrze:
Obviously, we’re disappointed with the result. However, we saw that in the second half we forced their goalkeeper into a few saves, which was a clear difference compared to the first half. The season has only just begun. I said before the match that we didn’t face strong enough opponents during the preseason, and that was a mistake. The game against Górnik was our first real test. It will probably take us some time to get back on track – a track we want to return to as soon as possible. What gives me optimism is our fight until the end and the fact that we didn’t give up and tried to get the best result possible.
The White-and-Greens’ coach assessed the first opponent of the new season:
Congratulations to our opponents. They have 12 new players and a powerful squad. I was impressed with what they showed on the pitch. Good luck this season, and see you in Gdańsk.
Bohdan Sarnavskyi started in goal:
I’m the one who has to make the final decision – in the end, we can only play with one goalkeeper. That was my choice based on what I saw during preseason. But let’s not focus on Bohdan – he wasn’t the reason we lost. We knew we had defensive issues last season, and they’re still with us – we have to admit that. We brought in a new centre-back – Maks Diachuk – who has more aggression and physicality than the other two centre-backs, and that’s what we need.
On how Lechia can improve defensively:
We’ve already taken steps in that direction by signing new defenders. I hope someone else joins, but we’ll also keep working with the current squad to improve. Let’s also remember that Górnik is a strong opponent. They have a lot of quality in their team, especially in the final third.
Journalists presented Carver with post-match stats that favored Górnik:
I haven’t reviewed the data yet, but if it checks out, it could be a worrying sign. It might be due to the level of opponents we faced during the preseason. In those friendlies, we dominated possession, created many chances, and weren’t forced to work that hard.
