We have never been out of contention for qualification, says SC Braga coach Leonardo Jardim
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/SC-Braga-c40460 coach, Leonardo Jardim, claims that his side were never out of contention for qualifying for the knock-out stage of the UEFA Europa League. The Archbishops took on Maribor at home and emerged with an easy three points after scoring five past the
hapless visitors.
Last year’s runners-up, SC Braga, played Maribor at Estadio AXA yesterday in their UEFA Europa League group match.
The home side were considered to be the absolute favourites to dominate proceedings and that is exactly what happened during the ninety minutes. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Leonardo-c22056 Jardim’s men begun the game in great fashion and took the lead inside four minutes.
Maribor goalkeeper, Jasmin Handanovic, was unable to get his hands on the ball properly and it dropped for Lima, who wasted no time in finding the back of the net.
Alan then doubled the home team’s advantage on the 7th minute, after he jinxed past defenders and curled an absolute beauty into the net after Elderson’s cut-back found him in space.
Elderson then turned goal-scorer from an Alan corner, which was played in by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lima-c22267 on 38 minutes.
With the half-time whistle, Braga were comfortably in the driving seat and looked to have taken the game well beyond the reach of their opponents. However the Slovenian side did get a goal in the 62ndminute, with Volas applying the finish from
close-range.
The game was still far from up and the Arsenalists scored two more goals in the ensuing second period. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 cross.
In stoppage time, the Minhos applied the gloss to the score line, as substitute Fran Merida was able to net his side’s 5th at the far post.
With their passage to the next round secure, manager Leonardo Jardim was rightfully buzzing after the match and said that his team have never been out of the qualification process.
Speaking to reporters, the trainer said that his side already four points and they knew coming into the game that a win would help them move onto the next round of the competition.
“We had four points and we knew that a victory would enable us to qualify for the next round. We will continue to depend on ourselves and we want to win the next game in order to achieve our European objectives.,” he said.
The tactician also said that victories brought confidence into the team and boosted the morale but from tomorrow they will focus on their next upcoming game.
"Winning always brings confidence, especially when you score five goals. These players deserve it, as they performed really well. But we do not want to talk about the next game yet. Tomorrow we will recover and start thinking about the next opponent,” Leonardo
Jardim was quoted as saying.
SC Braga now take on Benfica at home on the 6th of November in the Primeira Liga.
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