Rueful Tecl proud of Plzeň effort

A missed penalty on 70 minutes proved to be Olympique Lyonnais' salvation as FC Viktoria Plzeň bowed out of the UEFA Europa League with a 2-1 round of 16 second-leg win in the Czech Republic. Stanislav Tecl – who struck the fateful spot kick against the post – was full of remorse, while the rattled but relieved Lyon players looked forward to a tough but exciting tie in the quarter-finals.

Stanislav Tecl, Plzeň forward
I am really sorry I missed the penalty – there were still 20 minutes left and at 3-1 Lyon would have had a hard time stopping us from scoring another. Of course, we feel that a lot of the damage was done in the first leg, but we are glad we finished our season in Europe with a win that pleased our supporters. I think this victory can be a rallying point for us for the rest of the season in the Czech league and cup.

Tomáš Hořava, Plzeň midfielder
We played a very good match – I would even say it was our best performance in Europe this season. We did not have much of a chance before kick-off and we also conceded before the break, but we still did not give up, turned the score in our favour, won the penalty and had some more chances. I felt Lyon were nervous and I believe they would have been even more nervous if we had scored the penalty.

Overall it was a superb campaign: we defeated CSKA Moskva and Lyon at home, and eliminated Shakhtar, and played against great sides like Bayern and Manchester City. I think our fans appreciated the fact we ended it with a win and with our heads up.

Jordan Ferri, Lyon midfielder
We are happy to be through to the quarter-finals. Plzeň created a lot of chances and the second half especially was very difficult for us. We lost our concentration a little – we were very lucky they didn't score the penalty. Luckily we have an excellent and reliable goalkeeper. We came here to qualify and we did just that, and that's what counts.

Jimmy Briand, Lyon forward
Viktoria Plzeň were playing at home so they did their best. The ten minutes during which we conceded two goals were very difficult, we got scared, but luckily we qualified in the end so we can watch the replay without too much trepidation. In the quarter-finals we can draw some very strong teams, headline acts, but we will see. We will definitely have to try hard to win.

Maxime Gonalons, Lyon defender
The match wasn't an easy one. Plzeň played very well and made us sweat a lot. Luckily our goalkeeper made some great saves. The two goals we conceded changed the pace of the game, but luckily we made it to the end and we are through to the quarter-finals. We can meet some of the best European clubs there – some who played in the Champions League – so I don't dare guess who our opponent will be. We have to wait until the draw. But we are definitely very proud to have reached the quarter-finals, because we do our best in every match.