The first match as captain of PSV went anything but rosy for Marco van Ginkel. The midfielder and his team lost 1-0 to NK Osijek and for that Van Ginkel looked for the reason with PSV itself. "The tempo was far too low. The real will to win was missing."
Playing to pieces
Van Ginkel said this on FOX Sports immediately after the match. According to the Amersfoort native, PSV tried to play the Croatians to pieces, but did not succeed due to the tempo. "We were sloppy on the ball. We knew they would dig in, but couldn't destroy them because of the low tempo. The real will to win was also lacking. That really has to change next week," Van Ginkel referred to the return game in Croatia. PSV must win there to at least force an extension.
Cocu lacked conviction
Head coach Phillip Cocu underscored his captain's words. "I missed the conviction from behind to play out a one-on-one situation against this defensive opponent," Cocu explained. "Especially in the first half, it was far too cautious. We didn't dare and used far too low a tempo. That's why we were hardly able to create any opportunities before halftime."
"After halftime that went a little better, but you can definitely speak of a false start. It will be a hell of a job to put this right next week," Cocu continued. "What I saw in the preparation with my team, I didn't see back now."