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San Luis: Quarterfinals Are Not Over
Gladiador coach, Raúl Arias, does not believe the series against Santos has been decided and is confident that they can overturn the adverse 3-1 score.
Nov 25, 2008 11:55:30 AM
In the return leg of the series, the Gladiadores will have to step up their efforts to overcome the unfavorable 3-1 deficit.
"It seems that there were some opportunities, not clear ones but enough for them to block, but well, Santos deservedly played their game and it ended good for them," Arias said.
Arias also recognized that Cuauhtémoc Blanco played an important role in the performance of Santos.
"He is an important player that fits well in the style of Santos, he is quality, likes the ball and this always influences the function of a team," he explained.
San Luis must win by a difference of two goals to continue advancing in the final stages of the Apertura 2008, and the superlider coach has already started to think on the strategy that will help them overturn the series and take them to the semifinals.
"We will try to score one first and that will allow us to have a better control of the match. It's going to be a very long week with a lot of impatience. We must adapt to all this," he added.
In turn, defender Alfredo González Tahuilán indicated that the team still has the possibility to defeat the current champion but they must play the remaining 90 minutes of the series without errors.
"We must be fully alert and concentrated," González Tahuilán said. "The result was heavy, but two of their goals were more by luck than anything else...we will try to play a good match this Saturday."
The Gladiador also acknowledged that Blanco was a factor but that they cannot only think of him during the next match.
"He is a player that incorporated into a good team with great players, but imagine if we only focused on Cuauhtémoc, we would be lost."
-- César García, Goal.com
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