In the post-match of the defeat against St. Gallen, Mattia Croci-Torti analysed in the press conference a game that, for long stretches, his Lugano interpreted with attention and personality. The technician underlined how the approach had been the right one and how, until the guest's goal of the draw, the team had conceded little to the green-and-whites. "We entered concentrated, compact, we left little to St. Gallen" he explained, recalling how the adversaries had chosen to wait low, playing mainly on the second balls.
The main regret stems from not having found the double before Boukhalfa's 1-1. "It hurts not to have been able to go 2-0 up when we had the chance," said the coach, pointing out that St. Gallen then struck twice with players of great experience and quality. Despite this, Croci-Torti was satisfied with the general attitude: "We did not play a bad game. We certainly regret not having taken home at least a point, I think we would have deserved it'.
THE CHOICES, THE SINGLE PLAYERS AND THE OFFENSIVE SOLUTIONS
The coach then explained the difficulties of the last half-hour, marked by a series of physical problems: Mai went off with a strong stomach ache, Belhaj fell ill before the match and in the final El Wafi also played in obvious pain after a blow received on the pitch. "We finished practically in ten," he admitted, pointing out how this penalised the Bianconeri's final forcing.
Croci-Torti defended the formation choices, based on the wish to modify as little as possible what was seen at Thun: "I only changed the two forwards because I knew that Koutsias and Cassano could give us so much". Precisely the Greek's goal was one of the most positive notes of the evening: "He's a very good player, we know that. He has quality and is returning to form.
The coach also praised Doumbia's performance ("He played a good game, I never had any doubts about him") and explained how, at the moment, the double striker is a viable solution only in certain contexts: "To play with two forwards I often prefer a three-man defence, but today we didn't have great alternatives. There are ways and dynamics to work on".
LO LOOKING AHEAD
In conclusion, Croci-Torti reiterated how the performance should not be downgraded despite the result: "They scored two great goals. St. Gallen is a strong team, built to be at the top". For Lugano, the thought already runs to Saturday's challenge against Sion, fundamental to resume the interrupted march.