Villarreal manager Javi Calleja says his team grew into the match to get an extra-time victory
Villarreal manager Javi Calleja recognised that his team found it hard to win their second-round Copa del Rey match. Finally, the Submarine beat Orihuela in a match that went to extra time. “At the start, we found it hard to get into the game. The rhythm was slow and we weren’t capable of imposing ourselves. As the match grew, they got tired and we dominated. At the end of the day, we’re leaving with a hard-fought, but deserved victory,” analysed Calleja.
For the head coach, the team faced an Orihuela side that were set up well: “We suffered more than we expected and we weren’t able to get the win until late on. We have a lot of chances but they were very good. Every game you play away from home against teams like this is very tight. We played in their half, we had a lot of chances, and they were also really up for the game. We’ve done what we wanted, we’re taking the games seriously, and we need to continue like this.”
Calleja was also frustrated that two legal goals were ruled out, and that a penalty was not given for a clear foul on Santi Cazorla: “The team’s attitude was the most important thing, in a match like that we were used to things falling for our opponents. There was at least one offside where our player was in a legal position. We had enough chances to win, a penalty too and a few offsides given that weren’t offside.”
