The head coach of Botev Plovdiv, Dusan Kerkez recognized the superiority of Panathinaikos after the fall of the "canaries" from the Greek giant in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, BTA reported.
"It's not easy when you lose, but when you lose to a team like Panathinaikos, you can only learn. This was not our night. With the quick goal we got, then the own goal came, we also had two injuries. A lot of things went wrong and the only good thing today was the fantastic atmosphere our fans created. I regret that we were not able to offer them on the field what they came for. Never in my career until now have I seen my team's supporters chanting my name after a 0:4 loss," Kerkez commented after the match.
"It was not a problem for us to play with three defenders. The quick goal affected us mentally. This is football. Panathinaikos has quality players who quickly find their way on the field. This is the reality. If you see what players of the opponent came from the bench - we are talking about players who cost more than 5 million euros. However, I believe in my players. "I don't run away from responsibility," Botev's mentor also said and commented on the condition of the injured Anthony Udzha and Andrey Yordanov, who were forcibly replaced.
"Uja's condition is not good. I hope it's not like Georgi Nikolov's injury (torn knee ligaments), but maybe it's something similar. Andrey Yordanov is in hospital. We are about to find out exactly what his condition is," explained the head coach of the "canaries".
He also paid attention to the next opponent of the "yellow and black" in the Conference League - Zrinski Mostar from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Zrinski Mostar is not an easy opponent. Last season they played in the groups of the Conference League. They are a good team. We have to play two strong games. We have our chance to move on. From tomorrow we return to reality. "First we have a difficult match against Krumovgrad and then the match with Zrinski," concluded Dusan Kerkez.
Panathinaikos head coach Diego Alonso was pleased with the character shown by his team. He admitted that the victory did not come easily, despite the expressive result.
“It looked like we qualified easily, but we didn't. The quick goal at the beginning of the match gave us the necessary peace of mind and made the game difficult for our opponent. In Athens we took the first step in the first 70 minutes. Today, throughout the match, we performed well and took the next step to move forward,” commented Diego Alonso after the match.
„The team played in a good way, but we have to improve. We showed character today, but you can't get better if you don't work hard every day. I am satisfied with the overall performance of the team in today's match. Tete has some training with the team and we have to be patient for him to get used to the new environment at the club. My job is to help football players show the best version of themselves. This is the only way the team will grow and become better," Panathinaikos coach added.