Ludogorets head coach Zachary Sirakov was understandably pleased with the 4-0 win over Petrokub in the first play-off clash of the Europa League.
“I am happy with the first half. In the second half, we also had our moments of crisis. The gratifying thing is that we did not concede and scored two goals. The boys played until the very end. We were looking for the maximum and I congratulate my players for performing great.
That is why the shifts were dictated. We play matches every three days. Naresi had a virus and requested his replacement himself. I am pleased that we took a comfortable lead before the second leg. “Petrocub” is not a random team and I congratulate their coach for teaching them to play football.
We will do our best to make the boys take the return game seriously. There is more to be desired from our game. When we press, we don’t press everyone and that’s where we see problems. It’s good that we are trying to play combinational football. In the match with “Levski” not much was achieved.
We raised the mood in the team after the loss to “Karabakh”. There are also losses in sports, the boys are professionals. The most important thing is how we bounce back after a loss. We showed it that we succeeded quickly. I congratulate everyone, as well as everyone in the club, that we were able to lift the boys after the loss,” said Sirakov.