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Matrevic after the match against “Shkendija”: Much more interesting game than in the Premier League – Football Premier League – Football

On Thursday, in the first match in Riga, “Valmiera” recognized the superiority of the North Macedonian club “Skhendija” with 1:2 (1:1).

“I myself had a much more interesting game than in the Premier League, because there were more moments. Of course, none of us played the best game. We tried to play as if it were a normal Premier League match. You have to take experience from this game and learn. It’s good that only 1:2 and we are still in the game,” said Matrevic.

“Valmiera” head coach Jurgis Kalns mentioned at the post-match press conference that the players created unnecessary pressure for themselves, similar to the one before the first league match of the season.

“We have a profession where anxiety before a match is normal. The opponents were more experienced and played to their strengths. This experience will be useful to us,” Matrevic admitted.

In the first goal conceded, Valmieri played passively in their own penalty area, but the second time the ball went into the net after the team was down to ten men for a while due to the injury of Pape Fal.

“If I think a football player is going to play with the ball, I don’t try to run and read the trajectory, because there might be ricochets or something else. I thought someone was going to play, but the ball flew through and hit the corner. In the second goal, after Fal’s injury, one of the wingers had to sit down in his position. At one point he was there, but then not anymore. When I told him to get back into position, it was already too late. As experienced players, they read the situation immediately,” said Matrevic.

The “Valmiera” goalkeeper admitted that there was good communication with the defenders on the pitch. Only in the round of 16 of the Latvian Cup did a misunderstanding result in Matrevics knocking down an opponent in the penalty area and being rejected. “I haven’t had many mistakes like that,” said Matrevic.

In the match held two weeks ago, Klavs Lauva, who recently came of age, took the place of Matrevic, who saved the “pendulum” and kept his goal intact. “Valmiera” defeated the “Riga” team 2-0 in the minority and reached the quarter-finals, in which Matrevic will be prevented from participating due to a one-game suspension.

“Klávs malačis, entered the game well. He has improved a lot this season, I’m very happy about that. It was a very good game for his confidence,” Matrevic boasted of his five-year-younger colleague.

The second half of the summer is more stressful for “Valmiera”, because in parallel with the league tournament they have to fight in the cup competition and the Conference League.

“It’s cool, because there are more games and less training. The games are the best training. Especially here in the Eurocups, it’s interesting because there are higher-level opponents who play more complicated than the Premier League teams. We’re somehow used to the Premier League, but here, I think, the opponents performs more complex actions in attack,” Matrevics admitted.

Valmiera, the leader of the Premier League, recently had a 15-game winning streak, which was broken against the Jūrmala “Spartak” team. The failure did not affect the character of the team in any way.

“We lost in one game, then we regained our confidence and moved on. We are young footballers, we play from game to game without looking at the table or listening to what is being said around us,” noted Matrevic.

The second leg will take place next week in Skopje.

The UEFA Conference League is the third-tier club competition in Europe, after the Champions League and the Europa League.

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