Slovan set on business not pleasure in Rome
Friday, August 19, 2011
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ŠK Slovan Bratislava's goalscorer in their 1-0 win against AS Roma, Martin Dobrotka insists his side will not travel to the Italian capital "as tourists" in next Thursday's play-off return leg.
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Though ŠK Slovan Bratislava upset the odds to secure a 1-0 win against AS Roma in their UEFA Europa League play-off first leg, the Slovakian side are all too aware that only half the job is done.
Martin Dobrotka, goalscorer on Thursday, was particularly keen to play down the result with the prospect of a daunting trip to the Stadio Olimpico still to come. Though his captain and coach were equally realistic, there is no sign of the Slovan camp being overawed.
Martin Dobrotka, Slovan goalscorer
It was one of my greatest goals, even though I have scored some important ones already. Igor Žofčák sent me a good cross, but of course we had a bit of luck that the ball got to me. It was a good cross, I just put my head on it and the ball sailed into the net. We will enjoy this great feeling of beating such a team as Roma, and from [Friday] we will think about our league game on Sunday and Thursday's return leg.
We are very happy, It is a big win for us, but we are not talking yet about advancing. We have another 90 minutes ahead of us in Rome. It will be really tough in Rome, but we will not go there as tourists. We played well defensively. Roma played a style like Barça with long flat balls to the front. Both wings were very dangerous but we played well as a team at the back.
Igor Žofčák, Slovan captain
We did not play well at all in the first half, did not even have a shot on Roma's goal. We improved in the second half and played very disciplined football from the goalkeeper to the striker. If we can play like this in Rome or even improve our performance, I believe we can go through.
Vladimír Weiss, Slovan coach
It is a great win for us. Players fought, even though some of them had problems with small injuries. We are going to Rome with optimism, but we are aware it will be a really, really hard task. We did not have many opportunities, but we were effective.
Luis Enrique, Roma coach
I chose those 11 players who I had available for this match. It is a pity we didn't score, we had several very good chances. We will have to play better at home, and it is a must for such a big club as AS Roma to win and advance. Slovan played a good match and were very effective. We applied pressure in some parts of the game, but could not turn it into goals.
