Asier Garitano: "We suffered a defeat, but we tried hard and we had our chances against a talented opponent in great form"

C.D. Leganés manager, Asier Garitano, hosted a press conference after the pepineros game against Real Sporting at El Molinón this Friday, which finished 2-1 in the locals' favour.

Asier summarised the encounter as such: "It was a bit of a chaotic match, with a lot of ups and downs and a poor start on our part against a team in strong form. We did react well to the goal and it looked like we could equalise from the set pieces. The second half was in a similar vein: we started well but went down 2-0 and they could have decided the game right there too. The goal to make it 2-1 pulled us back into the game, but the Randjelovic chance wasn't to be. We suffered the defeat because Sporting had talent and played well".

"We lacked that final pass and the close crosses into the middle"

On their opponents, Garitano described them as "the best team at the moment and capable of reaching Primera. They're in good form and even better spirits. We made them panic a bit today, they did struggle, but compared to last season they're a better side and a stronger one".

The manager lamented the final chance to level in the 89', where Randjelovic was deprived of an equaliser by the bar: "Sporting were uncomfortable out of possession, but we lacked that final pass or the close range crosses into the middle that create goalscoring oppportunities. We took the ball from left to right, we tried every angle we could, we did have our chances, but the game was heading in their direction from early on. It was a shame we couldn't convert on Lazar's chance, because 2-2 would have been a far better result for us. We came into the game after a difficult start and this wasn't any easier. We'll analyse it all and move on to the next game".