Andrés Carevic, coach of Cartaginés, addressed the media following his team’s 1-2 defeat to Saprissa in the first leg of the semifinals. Carevic acknowledged Saprissa’s experience and expressed disappointment with his players’ execution during set pieces.
In his remarks, Carevic explained: “We started the match well and, as I said before, at this stage you cannot make mistakes against a team with hierarchy. The first goal was bad luck and the second came from a set piece, and at this stage you can’t allow that against a team with hierarchy. If you have to lose, let it be because the opponent is better and not due to our own circumstances. We carried the weight of the match and we will go to Saprissa to propose and look for that goal to keep moving forward.”
Looking ahead to playing away while trailing by one goal, he stated: “We must go play with freedom and confidence, as the team has done many times. The last time we went to Saprissa we performed well. Surely it will be a difficult match because they are strong there, but we have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”
Carevic also noted issues in midfield strategy: “I was looking for ways to find space. I told Christopher Núñez not to centralize play. We worked on set pieces the day before and what was practiced wasn’t executed; my frustration with them (the players) is that in such a decisive moment after so much work it wasn’t put into practice. It bothered me that what we trained for on set pieces wasn’t done.”
When asked about Cartaginés’s previous success over Saprissa in regular season matches compared to finals outcomes, Carevic commented: “It is very clear these are decisive stages and you can’t make mistakes or overlook key details in this series. Saprissa is a team with hierarchy; they know how to play these moments and don’t forgive errors. We need concentration—not giving them chances—and when we had ours, we needed more precision. They scored two goals in two minutes and took the match.”
On missed opportunities in attack, he added: “They are precise and take advantage of what we allow them. The first goal was bad luck—it’s not an error—but then there are defensive details like set pieces followed by their finishing ability. We had our chance but couldn’t finish; that’s where the difference lay in this match.”
