“An unforgettable season in Europe is behind us, but now we have the task of winning domestic trophies in order to have a trip like this again,” said Zrinjski coach Igor Štimac after his team’s 0:2 defeat on Thursday in London against Crystal Palace.
On the second visit to England in a little over two years, after Mostar’s 1:1 draw at Selhurst Park in London, in the second leg of the 1/16 finals of the Conference League, Zrinjski was defeated by Crystal Palace 0:2, ending his nineteenth European campaign.
Coach Igor Štimac was proud of his players.
– It’s a real shame that in the first game we didn’t use the chances that would have been a significant boost for London. We played bravely, although still with trepidation in the first half, because we tried too little when we had a ‘clean ball’. We aimed for the long ball forward, we didn’t express the desire to keep it – Štimac said in an interview for the club’s YouTube channel.
He added that he was satisfied with the second half, because the players showed a lot of courage and verticality in the game, while one of their goals was disallowed, and Tomij Jurić’s promising chance for an equalizer was found, but it didn’t happen.
He emphasized that the focus must now be shifted to domestic competitions.
– The opponent should be congratulated. Let them win this competition so that our defeat is also justified. Everyone in BiH can be proud, a big thank you to the fans who followed us on this European trip. An unforgettable season in Europe, but now we have the task of winning the trophy on the domestic stage, so that we can have a trip like this again – he said.
He especially thanked the 1,500 fans of Zrinjski, whose song echoed through Selhurst Park, and who will have the highest expectations next Monday, when the Nobles will visit Željezničar in the last game of the 23rd round (from 9 p.m.).
After the 22nd round, Zrinjski is the second team of the WWin League BiH with six points behind the leader Borc, Željezničar is sixth with as many as 19 points less than Mostar.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
