Cádiz CF players Jorge Pombo, Álex Fernández and Marcos Mauro offered their thoughts on Monday night’s 4-0 defeat to RC Celta Vigo at Balaídos.
“It wasn’t a good first half for us,” Marcos Mauro said. “We were defensively very fragile. We know that first-half display isn’t the way forward. We have to play more like we did in the second 45, when we fought harder. We were well behind by then, though.”
The central defender continued: “We had clear chances and if we’d put them away it wouldn’t have turned into such a crazy first half. That was the difference: they were really clinical and we weren’t.”
He called for improvement when he declared: “We know we’re a newly-promoted side but we can’t put in a first half like tonight’s. We have to work on things and keep going.”
Pombo, who was a half-time substitute in Vigo, said: “Coming on at 4-0 down, you know that’s a deficit that’s going to be difficult to turn around. They’re very good with ball at feet, they looked at ease and everything they did came off. It’s a heavy scoreline.”
“We didn’t play badly,” he stressed, “but this is Primera División and Celta took their chances. We created more in attack than in other games, but we didn’t put our opportunities away and when that happens this is the outcome.”
A down-hearted Pombo concluded: “We worked our socks off, but it’s tough. We’ve come away from here on the end of a hiding and it could have been more. We have to learn from this. On Thursday we’re on Copa del Rey duty [against Ribadumia] and then on Sunday we have a very important match [in LaLiga against Getafe].”
Meanwhile, Fernández said of this evening’s scoreline: “It was a strange game because we had chances, but we didn’t put them away. We’re a side who struggle like we did today if we let the other team create lots of chances.”
He added: “Celta played well in attack and took their chances. We weren’t good in defence and a 4-0 loss is quite a beating. We showed some decent attacking penetration but we weren’t able to stick away our opportunities. But no matter how many chances you make, it’s unlikely to be of much use if you let in a hatful like we did tonight.”
