Red card as the turning point

Despite putting up a good fight, Lech Poznan lost with FC Basel 1:3. On the post-match conference both coaches agreed that the red card for Tomasz Kedziora was the turning point of the Wednesday clash. Below are the full comments of the two coaches.

Urs Fischer

Today's match was balanced until one of Lech's players received a red card. It was the turning point. We are in a very comfortable situation ahead of the second leg, but we cannot forget that there is still one more match to play. My team did a great job tonight and we are very happy with the result, however we know that the task hasn't been done fully yet.

Lech is a very good team. If I were to set somebody apart, then it would be the player with no.7 (Karol Linetty) and the captain (Lukasz Tralka), who decided about Lech's strength in the midfield. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at the stadium. When I came on the pitch during the warm up, it was still quiet. However, later on, when I saw all the blue-and-white fans, I rejoiced. Every player is happy not only for the support his fans deliver, but also for the support of the opponent's fans. The atmosphere created by both sides had an impact on tonight's game and this is a good thing.

Maciej Skorża

I believe that for a major part of the match we did a good job. We were inefficient, but we knew how to put up a decent fight with the Swiss team. The red card was the turning point - it disorganized our play and we did not regain control anymore. Before that we had goal attempts which should have ended with a goal and if you make such simple mistakes at this level, then the costs are high. Today FC Basel showed us the real European football and apart from the penalty kick which was saved by Buric, they used every single chance they had.

Today we faced a strong team which is well-known on the international arena. I am highly disappointed, because I believe that the result is unfair. Undoubtedly tonight's match gave a lesson of how a class team is merciless when you make any errors. On the other hand, Marc Janko came in as a substitute - we haven't got a single forward like Janko in the whole league, which only emphasizes the difficulty of the task. However, that does not change the fact that I am disappointed, perhaps even angry with how the things turned out. We are in a tough situation, but we will fight until the very end.