The Catalan full-back hopes to be able to turn the tie against Melilla around
Xavi Quintillà, Villarreal B player and regular first-team squad member, met with press this morning at the Villarreal CF Training Ground (Ciudad Deportiva) after the reserve side’s training session. The young full-back was frustrated with the Mini Submarine’s bad luck at crucial moments of the first leg (0-2). “We knew that Melilla would be a tough opponent and that we had to face the match as keen and as excited as possible, and that’s what we did, but the sending off affected the match quite a lot. We think we put in a really good performance in the first half, but at the end, key moments went in their favour.”
However, the Catalan defender underlined his optimism ahead of the second leg in Melilla (Sunday, 7:30pm CEST). “We have to go into the game with even more will than in the first game to turn the tie around. We can do it, we trust in ourselves. We know what we did well and what we did badly and we must correct it.”
Moreover, he highlighted that comebacks aren’t just a dream anymore: “You don’t have to tell us about comebacks in recent years. Our team is ready to put in a good performance wherever and against whoever. We’re having an incredible season.”
He also emphasised that the team is calm and also used the opportunity to thank the fanbase: “We’re players who aren’t affected by pressure or full stadiums. We’re youngsters, we’re always giving our all and focused on our work. But we also want to thank everyone who filled the Mini Estadi.”
Quintillà believes the team’s calmness is one of its strengths: “We knew that it was a crucial match, that everyone in the play-offs wants to get as far as possible, but we don’t feel any pressure and that’s our strength.”
The left-back also hopes to make things difficult for the home side throughout the game: “We know that we need to score three goals to come back and scoring first is one of the key things, but we shouldn’t rush. Playing 90 minutes against a team like us can seem a long time. We want our opponents to feel pressure from the first minute.”
Finally, Quintillà showed his happiness to form part of the Mini Submarine in the promotion play-offs: “The season doesn’t seem to be neverending. I’m very comfortable and happy with the B. Thanks to these players and the coaching staff, who’ve given me everything, I’m also regularly with the first team.”
