Nicola Beati: “We have to learn from this defeat”

Head Coach Nicola Beati reflected on the penalty shootout defeat to Cittadella: “It’s a shame. We knew it would be a difficult game against a strong side, perhaps the best in Group A. I asked the lads to continue on their development path and they did just that. It was an excellent performance, although there are still some things we need to improve. Despite the defeat on penalties, I’m pleased with the way they played. We were also a little unlucky with the own goal from a set piece, which shifted the momentum of the game somewhat. That’s something we’ll need to improve on”.

He concluded: “We can learn a lot from this defeat, as it highlighted both our strengths and our weaknesses. We were up against a very good side today and we showed we were ready for the challenge, but the penalty shootout didn’t go our way. From tomorrow, we’ll turn our attention to preparing for our opening league game against Vado.”