Lechia Gdańsk’s match in Kraków against Cracovia ended in a 2:2 draw. Head coach John Carver shared his thoughts with the media after the game.
The coach of the Green and Whites summed up Sunday’s match:
Conceding in the final minutes is disappointing, but we knew how tough this game would be. Still, there are many positives to take from it. Yes, I’m frustrated with just one point, but the team played well, and we’ll take a lot of good things from this performance. We’re known for adapting and for playing a style that neutral fans enjoy. But sometimes, you have to play boring football to secure all three points. We’re definitely heading in the right direction. Now we have three tough games ahead, and we’ve shown that we can compete with anyone in this league, so today’s match leaves us with a lot of hope. Of course, we’re disappointed to concede so late, but considering the club’s situation, this result still gives us some optimism.
We just need to deal with the disappointment, but if you look at the teams we’ve faced so far, I believe they’re all in the top five. We now have a bit more time before the next match, and we’ll be ready because it will be a very important one.
On Rifet Kapić’s substitution:
We were going to take off Bohdan Viunnyk, but Riki signaled a slight hamstring cramp. We didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.
On the absence of Bujar Pllana:
Bujar had this injury at the end of last season. He managed to finish the campaign, but it lingered. We sent him for tests, and it turned out there’s fluid buildup in the adductor. We’ll get more updates at the end of next week. It’s a big problem for us. I recently complained about only having three central defenders – now we’re down to two, so we need to find a solution quickly.
On similarities to spring matches against Cracovia:
I can see Cracovia’s progress. They’ve invested their transfer money well and created a lively atmosphere. There were around ten thousand people, but by the end, it felt like even more. This was actually my third visit here, as I came with the Scotland national team for the match against Ukraine. That ended 0–0, so I guess my record at this stadium isn’t bad: one win and two draws.
On Lechia’s throw-in routines leading to goals:
Yes, that was the plan. Coach Bella is in charge of set pieces. He’s faced criticism when we conceded from them, but now his work deserves credit. We’ve executed these routines before, like in the match against Pogoń, where we also scored from one. Ivan being in that spot today was a result of our repetition in training. Radek’s work really needs to be appreciated.