PSV recorded a 4-3 victory over Heracles Almelo on Saturday night in a goal-rich game. Head coach Peter Bosz saw his team struggle especially in the second half, but afterwards expressed his appreciation for standouts Guus Til and goalkeeper Kovář. "We can thank him for those crucial saves."
PETER BOSZ
How do you look back on the game?
"What bothers me is that we show how well we can play football, reach that level for half an hour and then fail to hold on to it. You score twice and then I expect those guys to finish the game in a top club worthy manner. I understand it's December and we're up against a rest period, but we have to do this better."
Did you see that especially in the second half?
"I saw already at the end of the first half that we were getting sloppier and the pace was going down. Up to that point they hadn't had any big chances. It became 2-1 just before halftime and then you give the other team hope. When you take a 2-0 lead, those clubs look out for the third and fourth goal. But now that happened exactly the other way around. They exploited that hope well and in the second half we were not ourselves."
So does fatigue play a role?
"You are a top club. You know you play a lot of matches, but we want that too."
What did go well tonight?
"I explained to those guys beforehand what I mean by a good start to a match and we did that well. Heracles Almelo didn't get a chance to play football and they mostly had to shoot the balls away because of our high pressure. You get ahead well and in the end you win the match handsomely. Even after the 2-2 and after the 3-3, you still get the energy from somewhere to win. We can thank Kovář at the end for those crucial saves, because he made them today. And Guus' goal of course."
Does this game underline the importance of that you can't slack off in a season?
"You can indeed never slack off. You have to win your games, but of course you will sometimes lose points somewhere. We have already done that, but are on an incredible run in the league. The guys know you can't slack off."
Yarek Gąsiorowski did not play today. Can you explain that?
"He is 20 years old and came from abroad. He didn't play every game there. When you come here, you have to learn and get used to it."
JERDY SCHOUTEN
How do you look at this match?
"In the first half there was little going on, but the penalty kick before halftime falls at an unfortunate moment. Then they go into the locker room with faith, but that's no excuse to show up like that in the second half."
Do you have an explanation for it?
"It was not good enough and we suffered a lot of ball loss. With the goals, you see that you lose the ball too early. You still keep coming back to the lead at the other end and manage to win it and that's clever."
How tough was it today?
"Very tough. If you let it come to a tie twice, that says enough."
Are you looking forward to the winter break?
"We are focusing on the cup game with GVVV and the nice away game against FC Utrecht, so we are not looking at the winter break yet. We have to finish those two duels well first."