The final whistle blew, leaving a bitter taste for Rio Ave. They had held a winning position until the very last minute against Sp. Braga, only to see it slip away in a 2-2 draw. Coach Sotiris Silaidopoulos, in the quiet press room afterwards, didn’t hide his disappointment. He focused especially on his team’s second-half effort.
“We are not happy with this result,” Silaidopoulos admitted, his voice reflecting the frustration. “To be leading until the 90th minute, then not win, it stings. But even in moments like these, you have to find the good. We worked incredibly hard, and we really deserved to be ahead at halftime.”
The coach highlighted the team’s strong start. “In the first half, we followed our strategy well. It was good to see how everyone worked together, especially in defense. We kept our shape and played with purpose. We must keep that focus.” However, the second half told a different story.
“For me, the way we play is often more important than the final score,” Silaidopoulos explained. “If we had played the whole game like we did in the first half, things would have been different. I can’t say I’m satisfied with our performance after the break. We lost our way a bit. But I still saw many good things that we can build on.”
The Rio Ave boss then shared a deeper philosophy. “In many games, we get too focused on the scoreboard. It’s not exactly fear, but this intense focus on the result often works against us. My goal is for the team to trust our game plan. They need to stick to our ideas, play with confidence, and then, only then, should we look at the result. This is something we are working hard to make a habit.”
He believes his players have shown their true potential. “When you look at the whole match, our players proved they could have earned more points. They showed they deserved more from this game. We need to remember that feeling and carry it into our next challenges.”