With a good feeling, Head Coach Roger Schmidt stood in front of the microphone of FOX Sports on Sunday evening. The German coach had just seen his team win against FC Groningen and gratefully accepted the congratulations for it. 'I am happy with these first three points.'
'Very satisfied'
"I am very satisfied that we won," Schmidt began. "Opening duels are never easy and I also think we still have a lot of room for improvement. But I am happy with these first three points," said the German, who highlighted a few players on request.
Starting with his forward players, who made the difference after halftime by posting quick counter punches. "Fast switching can be incredibly attractive to watch and we can do that very well with guys like Noni Madueke, Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen," Schmidt said. He then addressed the performance of Pablo Rosario. The midfielder had a difficult year last season, but excelled against FC Groningen "as usual. Schmidt: "I think Rosario is a very complete number six. He can play football, skip lines with his passes, is strong in the duels and can assess situations well. That's what I ask for in that position. What I saw in the preparation, I saw again today. But also with him I think there is still a lot of room for improvement."
Less laudatory were the criticisms of goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo. The Swiss made a mistake when FC Groningen equalized. A mistake without seriousness. "In this situation Yvon would have been better off playing a long ball, but you learn from this," Schmidt nuanced. "You sometimes have to make mistakes to better assess certain situations. It was a mistake, but we like to play football from the back. Don't forget that this style of play also delivers a lot."
Dumfries: Finish earlier
Captain Denzel Dumfries was critical of his team's play despite the deserved win. "If you look at the score it was a bit of a squeeze," Dumfries said to FOX Sports, referring to his team's number of missed chances when leading 1-2 in the second half. "We should have put the game over the line earlier. It could have been done I think. At times we controlled and dominated, but the pace of the ball could still be higher. If we find the depth a bit earlier, we won't get into trouble as quickly."