Cerro Porteño coach points to emotional lapses and lack of efficacy after second straight loss

Cerro Porteño coach Ariel Holan expressed concern over his team's emotional fragility and ineffectiveness in critical moments, which has led to two consecutive defeats at the start of the tournament. Following a loss to Sportivo 2 de Mayo, Holan stated that conceding goals significantly impacts the team's morale, causing them to lose focus.

“

There are emotional moments in the game that in these two games, when a play happens, they score a goal and emotionally we feel the shock, we get a little unfocused.

"We don't have the same effectiveness as our rivals," Holan said, highlighting the missed scoring chances. He pointed out that in both matches, the team had opportunities to secure a lead, particularly in the first half of their home debut, but failed to capitalize. This pattern of squandering clear chances, even after conceding, further disrupts their perseverance.

“

I think we don't have the same effectiveness as our rivals and, if not, the results, with much to correct, would be totally different.

Despite the team being in a rebuilding phase with several new players and integrating those returning from injury, Holan emphasized that there is no room for error. He recalled the team's resilience in the Copa Libertadores, even in a difficult group, and stressed the urgency to react and start accumulating points to avoid falling further behind.

“

In both games the same thing happened to us: we had the first half the other day at home to finish it off and then we were left empty-handed; and today was practically a similar game.