Point apiece pleases Plzeň and BATE
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Article summary
The coaches of FC Viktoria Plzeň and FC BATE Borisov acknowledged first-night nerves had played a part in their Group H draw, although both professed themselves satisfied with a point.
Article top media content
Article body
Plzeň coach Pavel Vrba
The opening game was a little nervous for both sides. Nobody wants to start with a defeat, so defences dominated. I am sorry that we couldn't keep the promising lead we had a half-time as we had two chances after that, but we did not capitalise on them.
Our opponents scored from our only error, when we needlessly lost the ball on the left wing, but I can't blame our players for anything. The Champions League is very different from our domestic competition and some players didn't play like they have in the Czech league. We'll have to see how BATE compare to the other teams in the group.
BATE coach Viktor Goncharenko
In my opinion, both teams were really nervous early in the match. Mostly it was because this was the first match of the UEFA Champions League group stage. It's a pity we conceded a goal right before the break, yet the players' attitude told me that we could level the match. I believed that too and thankfully we managed to do it. I think the final outcome is fair.
