Fenerbahçe soaring after Plzeň success

Pierre Webó told UEFA.com he was "very happy" after his solitary goal put Fenerbahçe SK in the driving seat of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie against FC Viktoria Plzeň. However, both the Cameroonian forward and his colleague Dirk Kuyt agreed that it would take a focused second-leg performance to ensure progression, while Plzeň midfielder Vladimír Darida firmly believes the Czech league leaders can recover in Istanbul.

Pierre Webó, Fenerbahçe forward
We are very happy. We knew that Plzen were a very good team – they won against Napoli, a big team from Italy. We came here to get a good result and set ourselves up nicely for the second leg in Istanbul and we got the victory.

We know it is not finished yet. We played well today and we are going to have to do the same in Istanbul to make sure we get through. They are playing well and have some very good players, so they are going to be very dangerous in the second match.

Dirk Kuyt, Fenerbahçe forward
We are very satisfied with the result today. It is one and a half years since [Plzeň] lost at home in Europe, but we knew it would be tough and I think our team was very organised today. They only created one chance and although we only scored one goal, we have to be happy with the result.

We wanted to control the game and keep the ball, which we did. We created chances and I think we deserved to win, maybe by even more than one goal. But in Europe it is very, very important not to concede. The only thing that counts is getting into the next round. It would be a great achievement for Fenerbahçe to reach the quarter-finals, but it is still going to be a tough game.

Joseph Yobo, Fenerbahçe defender
I think it was a fair result. They played really well and caused us problems, but I think we controlled both them and the game. They are a very good team. A draw would not have been a bad result, but we have given ourselves a better chance for the home leg now. If we had drawn, we would have been happy to take the game back to Istanbul, but we are delighted with the victory.

We just need to play our normal game [in the second leg]. We are a footballing team who like to keep passing and we believe we can win. A draw would be good for us, but we are not going to play for a draw because we controlled the game today, so winning will be our intention.

Vladimír Darida, Plzeň midfielder
I think Fenerbahçe were well prepared for us and closed us down well, so it was a difficult game. We created a very good chance in the first half but unfortunately did not take it. Still, we had the whole second half to score a goal and we could not manage it. What is more, we conceded, so it is difficult to be positive about the result.

There is still the second leg to come and anything could happen. We will definitely have to be more offensive. Our passing needs to be more precise and we should not be afraid to get forward. If we score the first goal in Istanbul, we will have a good chance of qualifying. Fenerbahçe are definitely the strongest opponents we have faced in the Europa League.

Marek Bakoš, Plzeň forward
We are a bit disappointed, but it is only half-time in the tie. I think it will be a different match in Istanbul. We are not going to give up and we are going to fight for qualification. It was the first leg and we did not want to go throwing numbers forward carelessly. We were cautious because we knew how good Fenerbahçe are, but maybe we showed them too much respect.

We will have to perform as we did when we won at Napoli. We need to be patient and with a bit of luck we can easily get back into contention. It is the first time someone has defeated us in the Europa League for a long time, which shows that they were really well prepared, but, as I say, it is not over yet.