Cosenza, 2 April 2022 – Following our match against Cosenza on matchday 32 in Serie B, Crociati Coach Beppe Iachini spoke to the press at the Stadio San Vito-Marulla.
“The team played fantastically, except for the five minutes we went missing in which we naively conceded the penalty. We should have cleared the ball. We fielded many young players today and, in terms of experience, can pay the price. The team played good football and we nearly scored the third goal with chances from Man, Simy and Benedyczak. If you concede a penalty, you see what it can do to Cosenza. We saw it in the match against Lecce: they are a lively team, always switched on. We had to come here and show character, also in terms of possession. In the first half, even after we broke the deadlock, we needed to be clinical up front. We are working hard on trying to kill games. We currently find ourselves with ten players sidelined, and today we lost Balogh through injury. However, the group is making good progress and this is the eighth consecutive result in which we’ve taken something away, but we deserved more points from these games. Let’s take on the challenge and pick up as many points as possible both at home and on the road.
“Bernabè naturally has an offensive instinct. We worked hard to get him to play in front of the defence and every now and then he doesn’t pass up the opportunity to play the decisive pass. He still has time to grow, as he’s only 19. We work alongside lots of young players. I told him after the game that he’s done nothing yet, and he must persist and work hard with even more conviction; he has some great qualities but must still improve tactically. He is certainly a guy who can play well without losing humility.
“Bisoli set up his team in a certain way, clearly wanting to close off the wide areas and create one-on-one battles. We were proactive and really got at them thanks to our attitude. They wanted to stifle Rispoli through Caso and Man on the other side, but we prepared for the game and aimed to be offensive both on the wings and centrally. Caso is a really quick player who can cause problems for any team. We have been good at doubling up with our midfielders and defenders, and this is something we’ve done well for a long time; we concede fewer shots on our own goal than almost any other team in the division. We are really well organised which makes it difficult for our opponents. We need to be more clinical in the final third, and kill off games when presented with the opportunity. Today, we played our game. We had those five minutes after the penalty, but I demanded that the boys continued to try to score that third goal, which came in the end. It is an excellent result at what is a difficult place to come, against a lively Cosenza.
“Their goalkeeper made a good save to deny Man and again against Simy by closing the angle well. We have had our chances, but the important thing is that the team never gives up their attacking intent. Our goal is to pick up as many points as possible, and we are starting to find our identity after some good initial work. Unfortunately, we have had countless injury problems. The team has become a team, but we have also conceded goals along the way, and we’ve often been short of numbers up front. We haven’t always made the most of our chances and that has cost us points. But let’s keep going.
“I want to thank our amazing fans, who came in great numbers. They had to travel 12 hours by bus and this victory is for them.”
