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Hajduk coach Garcia satisfied after strong start to season
🇭🇷 Croatia /Sports

Hajduk coach Garcia satisfied after strong start to season

From Večernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Hajduk Split defeated Zilina 2-0 in their first Europa League qualifier, with goals from Roko Brajković and Dalisson.
  • Coach Gonzalo Garcia praised the team's effort, unity, and playing style, despite acknowledging Zilina's dangerous transitions.
  • Garcia stated that while the team could have scored more, the 2-0 lead is precarious, and they must maintain their approach for the second leg.

Hajduk Split began their new season with a strong 2-0 victory over Slovakia's Zilina in the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualifier. Roko Brajković opened the scoring in the first half, and Dalisson added a second after halftime, giving the Croatian club a comfortable, yet potentially precarious, lead.

We have eleven players who run like crazy. When we make mistakes, everyone runs to solve the problem. Everyone goes forward, everyone goes back.

— Gonzalo GarciaCoach Garcia described his team's high work rate and collective effort during the match.

Coach Gonzalo Garcia expressed satisfaction with his team's performance, highlighting their collective effort, unity, and enjoyable style of play. "We have eleven players who run like crazy. When we make mistakes, everyone runs to solve the problem. Everyone goes forward, everyone goes back," Garcia said, emphasizing the team's cohesive approach.

Football is about mistakes, and the goal is to stop them.

— Gonzalo GarciaGarcia commented on the nature of the game and his team's defensive focus against Zilina's threats.

Despite the win, Garcia acknowledged that Zilina posed threats, particularly on transitions. "They had one dangerous transition at the beginning and one at the end. Football is about mistakes, and the goal is to stop them," he noted. He also commented on Dalisson's specific qualities in passing and ball control, and praised the overall team performance, including Šego, Melnjak, and Brajković.

The feeling is that we could have scored more. 2-0 is a tricky result, if we were luckier, we could have scored more.

— Gonzalo GarciaGarcia expressed that his team missed opportunities to extend their lead.

Regarding star player Marko Livaja, Garcia stated he treats him well but had to make "football decisions." The coach felt Hajduk could have scored more goals, calling the 2-0 result "tricky." "We are halfway there, we have to play the second game with the same idea," Garcia concluded, stressing the need to maintain their rhythm and style of play.

We are halfway there, we have to play the second game with the same idea.

— Gonzalo GarciaGarcia emphasized the need to maintain their approach for the upcoming second leg.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Večernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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