«Get the best we can»
Stelios Malezas spoke to Novasports TV ahead of the Panathinaikos game in Leoforos, corresponding to matchday 2 of the Super League play-offs.
On the victory over AEK Athens:
«The most important aspect of that match is that we turned around the first-half result, by scoring twice. We weren’t good at the start of the game, especially in the first 20 minutes there was something wrong. We know must focus on that and make sure that it doesn’t happen again in upcoming matches. It’s been four weeks since our last competitive match and, along with our lack of focus, we didn’t start as strongly as we would have wanted in the AEK game«.
On lack of focus:
«Playing with no fans in the stands and after such a long time since our last match led to our lack of focus«.
On the importance of a good start in the game:
«We must concentrate on our mood changes during the game. We have to deal with it right from the start. Unfortunately, we didn’t play as we wanted in the first 20 minutes. We then tried to impose our game, but AEK Athens were good defensively and that made it hard for us to create the chances we wanted. We have to improve in upcoming games, starting with the encounter against Panathinaikos. It’s a very important game and we really want to win it«.
On set pieces:
«This is different. We all must work on it, each player separately, because it’s a matter of concentration. How to deal with each opponent. We need to improve our performance in set pieces, as we were really mediocre in that aspect against AEK Athens«.
On their main effort:
«We must get a good rest, physically and mentally. That will enable us to be more focused in upcoming games. It’s a procedure we know well, so hopefully we won’t have any problems«.
On Panathinaikos:
«I haven’t been able to watch their whole game against Panionios, so I am not able to comment on their condition. Panathinaikos are a very strong team, especially in Leoforos, with quality players. We must concentrate on how to deal with them and get the best we can out of the game«.
On the difference between Sunday’s game and the one in regular season in Leoforos:
«It’s an entirely different game, because we were different then. I believe we are better now. In play-offs, there is no time to correct mistakes. So we need to make less errors«.
On the aspect that will bring victory:
«There are no secrets nowadays in football. Everybody knows everybody and there are no surprises on the pitch. We mustn’t give space to Panathinaikos’s quality players«.
