Abelardo Fernandez was full of praise for his “young” Sporting Gijon squad after they “overcame a difficult hurdle” against Eibar in a 2-0 win on Friday.
Goals from Carlos Carmona and Jony Rodriguez [pictured] earned Sporting their second victory in three matches to move three points clear of the relegation zone in La Liga, and Abelardo felt his side’s focus on “the psychological aspect” of the game in the week paid dividends.
“The match was very difficult for my young squad, but they knew they had to win and that was seen a lot in the first half,” the Coach said after the game.
“We worked on the psychological aspect more than anything else over the past week, but it’s very difficult to put into practice.
“In the first half, we struggled a lot. We lost many balls but found [Eibar’s] goal near the end of it, which reassured us. In the second half, the game was more balanced.
“We had some luck in the shot that [Pichu] Cuellar saved, which then hit the woodwork and rolled across the line.
“[Eibar] are professionals who want to win, but we emptied ourselves on the pitch again.
“We won a very important game and now there’s another final at Getafe, where we have to score at the very least, and if we win, it’d be an almost-decisive step for survival.
“[Jony] is our most decisive attacker in the squad, and I hope we can stay up for many years.
“I’m very happy with the result because we’ve overcome a difficult hurdle against Eibar, who are having a great season.”
