Vitoria Setubal’s manager Lito Vidigal and Nigerian midfielder Mikel Agu have both lamented their 1-0 home loss to Portuguese league giants Benfica on Saturday which halted their good run of form and results.
A first-half goal by Brazilian forward Jonas made the difference at the Estadio do Bonfim as the Green and Whites succumbed to a third home loss of the season.
Reacting to the setback, Agu claims Benfica were just lucky to get all three points and that the game could have gone either way
“For us, it wasn’t as difficult as we first thought. For sure Benfica will always be favourite and they got an early goal, but we really came out in the second half stronger and had better chances to score. We’ll not let our heads drop despite the pain of losing what could have been at least a draw,” the 25 year old told Completesportsnigeria.com in an exclusive interview.
Manager Vidigal, in a post-match interview, had criticized Benfica’s “anti-football” approach, given their employment of delay tactics in the final minutes to see out the advantage against Setúbal.
“It was a shame as the game was constantly stopped. We wanted to play the match at a faster pace but the fouls broke the rhythm of the game and we know it was the strategy of Benfica so that they can frustrate us and probably get a second goal,” Vidiga lamented to Sport TV after the game.
The 49-year old manager was also full of praises for his players who took the game to their more illustrious opponents without fear.
“It was a well-played, well-balanced game, and we were able to finish the game stronger, and we had almost the same cards, the best opportunities at the end were ours, and the balance was shown at the end of the game. We had some misfortune in the result but congratulations to our supporters. This team is a warrior and we deserve these fans,” he said.
Setubal, who sit in 8th place in the League table, are away to Portimonense at the Estadio Portimao on Friday December 14.