Santa Clara’s recent trip to Croatia didn’t go as planned. They fell 2-1 to Varazdin in the first leg of the Conference League’s second qualifying round. After the final whistle, coach Vasco Matos didn’t mince words. He admitted his team started poorly. But he also quickly pointed out that the whole contest is far from over.
Matos spoke with clear frustration about the initial moments of the match. “We didn’t begin the way we wanted,” he explained. “We had talked about it, and we had warned the team. For the first 25 minutes, we just weren’t there. Clearly, we weren’t. This is something we must understand. We need to fix it.” He stressed that the second leg still offers a chance. “The game is still open,” Matos insisted. “The second half was definitely ours. We created many scoring chances.”
Then came a moment that truly stung. “We gave up a goal when we least expected it,” Matos shared. “That was a strong punch to the stomach. But the tie remains open. We have the second game at home. We will play in the Azores. Our fans will support us. We are sure to be very strong.” Matos made it clear his team needs to show a different face. “We must give a big answer. It needs to reflect our game plan. Those first 25 minutes cannot happen again today. That is the main lesson.” He added, “It’s not enough to just look ready; we have to be ready. We need to perform on the field. There are things that I don’t like. These issues must be fixed, and they must be fixed during the game.”
Matos also showed respect for the opponent. “We knew we were facing a difficult adversary,” he said. “Varazdin is a quality team. They showed that last season. They played in a very competitive league. We didn’t expect an easy match. Playing here, with their fans, was not easy. Now, we look forward to playing at our home. We’ll have our own fans there.”
