The head coach of the blue-whites Marcel Licka answered journalists' questions after an away match against Dynamo Makhachkala ( 1:0)
The third game in a month and a half between our teams was successful because we won 1:0. It's not easy for any team to score points here, but we managed to take three. I'm very happy that we coped with the struggle and won. I told the guys that somewhere the Makhachkala players would play simpler football, since they have many tall players, plus there is fast Agalarov. We managed to win a lot of balls, which makes me very happy. I would like us to play more with the ball in the second half, but the opponent showed high pressure and did not let us rest.
Did you make any adjustments due to the strong wind in Makhachkala?
We knew there would be a strong wind, so I asked the guys to play more low because the wind could correct the flight of the ball. We released Marichal and Fernandez on the flanks, and they helped us in the aerial battle, and the fast Majstorovic had to look after Agalarov, who scored against us in the Cup, running away from the defenders at speed.
What was the most difficult thing in the second half when it became clear that the Makhachkalans would go forward with great force?
There was a lot of fighting, the opponent simplified the game and quickly transferred the ball forward with throws to create pressure and chaos in front of and inside the penalty area. It was hard because Maystrovich had some problems, and we didn't know if he would finish the game. In the end, we played with 5 defenders in the ending, when Eli and Skopa took the flanks of defense, and Nico moved to the third center
How has the pitch changed in 10 days after the cup match?
I can say that the pitch has improved. In the cup game, it was soft and the ball bounced a little.
Jorge Carrascal spent the whole match on the bench. How does he feel? Can his absence be called part of preparation for the game against Spartak?
Yes, he has no problems. Today Eli and Skopa also stayed on the bench. There will be rotation in the match against Spartak: other players will take the field, including Carrascal, and Maukhub, who was disqualified today.
Are you happy that you managed not to let the top three teams in the table go away?
It is clear that we missed some points somewhere. For example, we played very well at home against Krasnodar. On the other hand, in 10 rounds we scored 20 points, and this is a good result. Zenit, Krasnodar and Lokomotiv are still above us, but we should also respect CSKA and Spartak, which are very close to us. We will try, work and prepare for the upcoming derbies
