Hans Vanaken: "Rough night from a footballing perspective"
"We haven't put in a poor performance, we just didn't make the most of the opportunities we had. With Jashari sliding away, Union had that bit of luck when Castro-Montes got too much time for his shot. Obviously this result frustrates me. We gave it everything to get that equaliser, but we didn't succeed. They have a team that is very sturdy in the back, hardly giving away any space. You then need a game where everything is executed in perfection, and that was not exactly how it went today. It was a rough night from a footballing perspective, even if we did manage to create some chances by the very end of the game. Union was also unable to create many chances. It all boils down to details, and it went their way today. We need to take on Sunday's game with the same mentality, but we will need more movement in order to try and find those openings."
Nicky Hayen: “Too little depth”
A disappointing night for Club Brugge against Union, suffering a defeat by the smallest of margins. The defeat in the play-offs is a first for Nicky Hayen. “We started out with fine intentinos, but we lacked quality at times, with slow play, keepin from harming them. We lcked depth, particularly in the first half. After the break, we tried a different tack, which worked out a bit, but it still kept us from creating those big chances, except for those final minutes. We were nut op to par like we were in the last games, but that's also the merit of Union. It doesn't always look all that beautiful, but they manage to organise a very solid block. We do have the players to cause them serious pain, but it just didn't come about today. Why? Partly because of how they played, maybe also a lack of freshness. It's probably a combination of different factors. We will be making a fine analysis of this, and try to be ready for next Sunday's encounter.”
For the first time in his reign at Club, Nicky Hayen suffers a play-off defeat. “We always said we would remain level-headed, and that's what we will also be doing after this defeat. We were the hunters first, then we took the lead, and now we're chasing again. It's constantly changing, and that's probably how it will be until the very last game.”