SPAL coach Leonardo Semplici didn’t look to the red card as an alibi for their 2-0 defeat to Hellas Verona. “We created an even more complicated situation.”
The Spallini were down to 10 men for almost an hour, conceding goals from Giampaolo Pazzini and Mariusz Stepinski either side of half-time.
SPAL coach Leonardo Semplici didn’t look to the red card as an alibi for their 2-0 defeat to Hellas Verona. “We created an even more complicated situation.”
The Spallini were down to 10 men for almost an hour, conceding goals from Giampaolo Pazzini and Mariusz Stepinski either side of half-time.
“We knew that Verona had caused all their opponents a lot of problems this season, play very aggressively and frustrate, but it was in the balance until the red card,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“Verona started strong, we fought back and created our chances, including a very big one with Paloschi, but we were unable to finish and got irritable.
“The red card changed the game and undoubtedly had a big influence on the final result. Nonetheless, we mustn’t let it get us down, as we were coming off a good performance and were unable to build on that today due to various factors.
“At the moment, we are struggling to get the ball in the net and need to work on many areas.”
Semplici was asked if he thought Nenad Tomovic’s straight red card for a lunge on Marco Davide Faraoni was harsh.
“I didn’t see it very well, to be honest, so I cannot judge. It was our fault for losing the ball cheaply in the first place and then flying in to make up for it rather than creating an even more complicated situation for ourselves.
“Apart from the goals, Verona mainly created chances thanks to our errors and we kept giving the ball back in dangerous situations. You can’t do that against a side as aggressive as Hellas or expect to get away with it in a balanced game.
“The fact remains, we are in the relegation zone, we have nothing to lose and have to go all out from now on. It’s important to pick up points against teams on our level and so far we have not done that.”
Semplici’s job is once again hanging by a thread and the next match is a visit to his beloved Fiorentina.
“It’s an important match in my home town, so I hope it can go the same way it did when we beat Torino, with a strong response.”