Cornella boss ‘angry’ with set-pieces

Cornella Coach Jordi Roger has expressed his ‘anger’ with his side’s defending from set-pieces against Real Madrid, but was still delighted with their showing.

The Segunda B side crashed to a 4-1 defeat in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last-32 tie with Los Blancos, but they conceded their first two goals from corners rather than being outplayed.

Consequently, Roger was frustrated with how his side casually handed the momentum of the match to Madrid, yet he insisted that their poor defending should not gloss over the occasion.

“I'm angry, not that we conceded two goals to Real Madrid, but because they were both from set pieces,” Roger told reporters.

“I wanted us to develop more. Regardless of this, congratulations to my players because it was a great day for us.

“We wanted to have the ball and reach [Madrid’s] goal. Our motto was not to let them monopolise the ball.

“We didn’t want to lose it quickly because when Madrid dispossesses you, they kill you. Out of the five times [this happened], they scored four against us.

“That's why their last two goals killed us.”

Roger also revealed how he was faced with a selection dilemma ahead of the match in Catalonia, with so many players desperate to make their presence known against Madrid.

“I’m paid to make decisions, and today it was hard to leave people out of the squad. It’s an honour to be able to play Madrid on two Primera pitches,” he added.

“All 21 players deserve to play but cannot, so I must manage the players between both legs.”

“I enjoyed it. The players will never forget the experience of [playing in] the Bernabeu.

“I'm not used to talking to the press and being in front of 30,000 fans. If I could, I would’ve put my boots on and played!”

“No one can take away our goal [against them]. We are winners [in this sense] and are happy, but we want to get a better result at the Bernabeu.”

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