In the interviews after the game with 11 games left to play for the end of the competition the CD Tenerife squad has right now the Nastic game and winning there in their mind so they can cut the difference to get out of the relegation zone. “We are going to play the next game like it was the last”, assured Julio Álvarez. In the same terms Ricardo León commented: “We are talking about a really important moment”.
The undeserved loss against Elche (1-0) on Sunday needs to be left behind. The squad will concentrate, from now, all their effort on winning the next three games in play. Points that are vital for the aim to save the team. “right now we are in a bad state of mind” admitted Julio Alvarez, “and we need to play against Nastic like it was the last game on earth”. We need to concentrate on this game and think no further” the midfielder added.
His companion Ricardo León talked much the same way. “Nastic is a direct rival” he reminded, 2and we are talking about a vital game”. “We can't think about a loss but how we are going to win”, he emphasised. “The mentality has to be in how to win the three points”, he underlined.
Still, he couldn't not make a reference to the game against Elche in the Martínez Valero: “It is true that we received a goal in the start of the match, although we had chance to score”. He also noted that “The second half was completely ours” and finished saying that “This is where we are and we need to keep battling on”.
Ricardo & Julio Álvarez both preferred not to comment on the crossed words between them at the end of the last game. “I don't want to comment as in moments of stress things happen after games” said the local player.
“It was just a moment of tension between two players” he explained “and of course no one hit any one”. “If there have been statements as such then they were confused, very confused” he stated.
Julio Álvarez also commented, “It was a discussion like many other in the season” he described. “And if someone said we fought then that is blown out of contention”. “This damages everyone, above all the team when things are so uneasy right now”. He admitted that there was a discussion but, “it needed to stay within the players and nothing more”.
As well he said that ”We are hurt by the situation the team finds itself, It hurts to hear things about the team but more so when they are not true”.
We didn't start very well and make the most of our chances which we clear. The mistakes in the first half are not normal and hurt more so. The position we find ourselves in cause this. We deserved more”. This is how Antonio Tapia started his press conference on Sunday in the Martínez Valero, after the team lost against Elche CF. The chief coach had no excuses for the team and said, “In the first half Elche came out very strongly. Slowly we improved and in the second half we dominated and had chance but we didn't score”.
“After a loss and looking at the table everything looks black. There are still points in play. We need to work and look to win” said the trainer from Andalusia. He continued “in situations like this we need to take responsibility and I have no problem to do that”.
“we played like a team in the bottom half and were imprecise and nervous. Then as we felt surer we improved. We deserved to win”, he added. “I came to Tenerife to work hard and won't throw in the towel” was how he concluded.
Other players commented after the game:
Luna: “Again we lost and need to cry. We are cross after this game and the situation we are in right now. We don't need to talk, just show how we can play. This year football has been unfair with us. Things don't work out and even if we try they seem to go wrong. We cant get back even when the team plays hard. We need to think about the next game and how to win”.
Nino: “In Elche I played eight years of my career. Here we really suffered. Some of the mistakes were ours but sometimes the keeper played well. Our rival scored the first shot at goal. It is much the same as other games. If the game today was a final the one against Nastic is more so. We all want to sort this out for the team. We are here for the good times and the bad ones and we can't afford to give anything away”.
Sergio Aragoneses: “This the the same story. We need to react now. There is nothing but to win nearly all the games that are left. We need to be brave, but this could go wrong. We are part of the squad and we need to be united to solve this. It seems that we till we react things are the same. Every game left is a final. We have no place left for mistakes”.
