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Bahrain Boss: We Choked Against New Zealand
The Reds are still feeling blue.
Nov 19, 2009 7:37:38 PM
Bahrain boss Milan Macala has suggested that the occasion
got to his players last weekend as they lost their 2010 World Cup decider
against New Zealand.
The Czech tactician has kept quiet since watching the Reds lose 1-0 in Wellington in a match that saw the hosts go to South Africa.
Mohamed Sayed Adnan missed a penalty in the second half when one goal would have been enough.
"We have a good team and our players showed that they have good heart; except maybe in this last game, we did not play to our level. Maybe it was stress or the feeling of responsibility,” Macala told the Gulf Daily News.
"This is life. The last step is always the most difficult. The New Zealand team is not better than us, and we cannot say their goal is lucky. Players must take responsibility for every moment in a match," he said.
Macala was left to rue Bahrain’s marking as Rory Fallon scored the only goal of the game from a first half corner.
"Before the match, we spoke seriously about New Zealand's players and their style," Macala admitted.
"Their goal was because of a mistake in timing by one of our defenders. For every game, we assign one player to mark an opponent for a corner. This time, he made a mistake and Fallon was left alone.
"In the second half, the crucial moment was the penalty. Every day in practice, we prepare our players for such a scenario.
"During the game, it is the players' responsibility to choose who takes the penalty. Adnan took the ball, and everybody trusts in him. But what happened happened, and this is not the first time we see this in football.
"After that, our players' psychology was totally down, knowing we lost a big opportunity. But we were waiting for our leaders to do something, but it did not come.
"We lost our chance to qualify not only in that match. In the first leg, we had many clear opportunities, and we should fly to New Zealand with at least a 2-0 lead.
"Maybe, from this, we qualify. But 0-0, I said it was not a bad result, and still we had a chance, but we did not take it."
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The Czech tactician has kept quiet since watching the Reds lose 1-0 in Wellington in a match that saw the hosts go to South Africa.
Mohamed Sayed Adnan missed a penalty in the second half when one goal would have been enough.
"We have a good team and our players showed that they have good heart; except maybe in this last game, we did not play to our level. Maybe it was stress or the feeling of responsibility,” Macala told the Gulf Daily News.
"This is life. The last step is always the most difficult. The New Zealand team is not better than us, and we cannot say their goal is lucky. Players must take responsibility for every moment in a match," he said.
Macala was left to rue Bahrain’s marking as Rory Fallon scored the only goal of the game from a first half corner.
"Before the match, we spoke seriously about New Zealand's players and their style," Macala admitted.
"Their goal was because of a mistake in timing by one of our defenders. For every game, we assign one player to mark an opponent for a corner. This time, he made a mistake and Fallon was left alone.
"In the second half, the crucial moment was the penalty. Every day in practice, we prepare our players for such a scenario.
"During the game, it is the players' responsibility to choose who takes the penalty. Adnan took the ball, and everybody trusts in him. But what happened happened, and this is not the first time we see this in football.
"After that, our players' psychology was totally down, knowing we lost a big opportunity. But we were waiting for our leaders to do something, but it did not come.
"We lost our chance to qualify not only in that match. In the first leg, we had many clear opportunities, and we should fly to New Zealand with at least a 2-0 lead.
"Maybe, from this, we qualify. But 0-0, I said it was not a bad result, and still we had a chance, but we did not take it."
Goal.com
Talk about everything from the soccer world in the Goal.com Forums.
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