Our U16 team suffered a narrow defeat in Round 7 of the Elite League play-offs, despite controlling the game for most of the match. After the final whistle, head coach Bernát Burus shared his assessment.

Our U16 team suffered a narrow defeat in Round 7 of the Elite League play-offs, despite controlling the game for most of the match. After the final whistle, head coach Bernát Burus shared his assessment.

The coach also referred to the demanding recent schedule and the accumulated mental fatigue.

– We have been through an eventful week. First, we had to gather the energy and strength to come back from 0–3 and earn a point in Bucharest, and then by Tuesday we had to renew ourselves and multiply our efforts in order to secure qualification for the Cup semifinal – said Bernát Burus.

He added that mental fatigue was particularly noticeable in the league match.

– I feel that for this league game we were mainly mentally tired, and this showed in the inaccuracy of our play, in the technical solutions and tactical decisions. Despite this, we had more than enough opportunities to keep the three points at home – he stated.

He also spoke about the opponent and the first-half performance.

– We faced a physically strong team, but not superior to us in terms of football quality. In the first half we were especially dangerous from set pieces, yet from just a few meters in front of goal we failed to score. We fully controlled the match in the first half, but this time we lacked the goal in our game – he explained.

He highlighted the key moments of the second half as well.

– The second half followed a similar pattern: after a cross we missed a huge chance, then, as often happens in football, the opponent converted their only real opportunity after an individual mistake. We even hit the post during the match, but unfortunately the ball did not bounce in. It was an unfair result, and on this occasion we did not deserve to leave the pitch as the losing side – concluded Bernát Burus.

László Orbán
Photo: Zotán Pál