Hans Vanaken: "We now have to take points in other matches"
Vanaken concurs with the opinion of his teammates, but is especially disappointed with the way they are losing. "How we hurt Barcelona last time, that's how we get those goals against ourselves now. Nicolo (Tresoldi) gets a nice chance for 2-1, but the ball doesn't go in. And then it falls at the other end. That's how it goes at this level. Too bad, but we know that. Today we just shouldn't have swallowed three goals."
The Blauw-Zwart captain does not want to talk about extra pressure. "We want to finish in the top 24, but we are not going to achieve that every year. The opponents in this campaign may just be at a different level. Our goal is to make it though, and today was a chance to take points. That didn't work out, so we have to do it in other matches."
Brandon Mechele: "They finish it and we let it slip."
Mechele was very disappointed after the defeat against Sporting CP, especially with the tough final score. "In itself, we were good in the match. It was actually pretty balanced the whole match. The only difference is that we didn't finish and they did."
Nicky Hayen tried to make adjustments during the match and called Mechele to him briefly, but to no avail. "We had to put the pressure differently. That's why the coach called me in. At the 2-0, I actually had to stay with my man, but he just plays it in between. That's sad, but it's like that."
Club thus remains behind with 4 points from 5 playing days and falls outside the top 24. "We have fewer points than last season, that's obvious. If you want to win, you have to score more goals and get fewer in. Today we get three against, and that's just not good. They finish it off and we let it slip. That's the difference today."
At the end of the game, Jackers' injury stood out, after hard contact with Ribeiro. Mechele stood close to it. "I didn't see it well. I think he gets that player on his chest. It didn't look good, but I hope it's not too bad."
Joaquin Seys: "There's plenty to analyze."
Seys was tough on himself after the 3-0 defeat against Sporting. "The first half was too slow. On the ball we were okay, but our pressing wasn't right. And at this level, mistakes just get punished." Especially with the opening goal, he did not spare himself. "That first goal was dramatically defended by me. I don't know myself what exactly went wrong. I miss completely. We are going to look at the footage and learn from it."
The defender remained honest and level-headed and was also hard on himself on the second goal. "That's also where everything goes wrong. I basically put it in front of my opponent and then it goes all wrong. There is plenty to analyze. We have to learn lessons from this and look ahead to the match against Antwerp."
According to Seys, Club did do everything to turn the tide, but to no avail. "We really had the feeling that we could and should turn this around. We also got a few chances, but then the goal fell at the other end. That the third one then comes in, doesn't matter much anymore. We still tried, but it didn't work out."