Santos: "Pyramids' Goal Came From a Mistake, We Will Go to Cairo to Compete Strongly for Qualification"
Alexander Santos, coach of AS FAR, expressed his pride in his team's performance after their 1-1 draw against Egypt's Pyramids FC in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Santos affirmed that his team delivered a strong performance, stating: "I am proud of our team, our players, and the way we played against the champion of Africa."
Santos added that AS FAR succeeded in limiting the Egyptian team's danger, especially offensively, noting that his players demonstrated great collective effort throughout the match.
He explained: "We put in a great collective effort and effectively shut down Pyramids' strengths, particularly their attacking prowess, making it more difficult than usual for them to reach the goal."
Santos also indicated that the goal scored by the Egyptian team came after a simple mistake, considering that such details frequently occur in football.
In this regard, he said: "The goal we conceded came after a small mistake. I didn't see it clearly, but we won the first ball, then the ball remained, and they came back to score a somewhat strange goal."
He continued: "My focus now is to motivate the players and lift their spirits, because there is a kind of frustration, as we did enough to win the match. We gave them almost no real scoring opportunities, and we scored a goal and played well."
Santos concluded his remarks by emphasizing that his team will continue to fight in the second leg to secure qualification for the semi-finals, saying: "We will go to the second leg in Cairo with the aim of winning, and that is our goal. I am confident that we will compete strongly for the qualification spot, and good things will happen, God willing."
