NEC Nijmegen captain Tjaron Cherry was extremely self-critical of his performances after last night's match against Levski, which ended in a 1-1 draw. The experienced offensive player expressed regret for the missed opportunities and emphasized that he had to bring victory to his team.
"I always look at myself first. Today I just had to score a hat-trick and decide the match in our favor," said Cherry.
The 38-year-old Surinamese international had excellent chances to score before the break. First, the "Blues" goalkeeper Svetoslav Vutsov saved a dangerous header from him, and a little later Cherry was slow in another clear position. However, the player himself explained the situation with the delay.
"After the first possession, the ball fit me perfectly. I was slow because I thought there was an opponent behind me, but in fact there was no one. I just had to direct the ball into the far left corner and it would have been a sure goal".
After NEK failed to capitalize on their initial pressure, the Bulgarian team managed to punish the misses: "We started confidently, but they scored literally out of nowhere and then it was difficult for us. However, we can be satisfied with the first twenty minutes and the entire second half. In these periods, I saw the look of NEK from last season again", shared Cherry.
It was the captain who restored the tie in the second half, taking advantage of an error in passing the ball.
"It was a good goal, their goalkeeper gave me a good pass", joked the striker. "We created a solid number of chances, but at the European level it becomes very difficult when you are not precise with the finishing shot. If I had scored in the third minute, the match would have started in a completely different scenario.
Again I see the necessary intensity and aggression in our game. In the second half we proved that we belong at this level, but we simply had to win," added the NEK captain.