Mariusz Jop after #WISCHR: It's all about winning

Wisła added another three points to their tally on Wednesday evening thanks to goals from two Spaniards – Anegla Baena and Angel Rodado. We asked coach Mariusz Jopa for his comment after #WISCHR at the post-match press conference.

"In the first half, we had some problems with the high pressing. It must be admitted that the visitors played calmly, played quickly, and played without receiving. At times, we were a bit late in many moments, which meant we had to run a lot without the ball. In the second half, it looked much better, although it must be admitted that Chrobry were dangerous. They also had their chances. We definitely could have ended the match earlier. I mean, we had chances to score a third goal and be less nervous until the end of the match. But the point is to win. We had matches here where we had a very big advantage, a lot of chances, and we didn't leave the field with the victory, so I'm happy above all with the three points. And we need, we want to recover quickly so that we can fight for the three points again in the next match." - began the White Star trainer.

Olivier Sukiennicki was not seen again in the second half. "Was this change due to a change in formation to work better on pressing? Not only that, because I wouldn't want it to be perceived as "Suknia" being the one who wasn't performing well, because that wasn't the case. It was a broader issue. However, we wanted to give Jesus a boost, we also wanted to give him minutes, because he played well in the previous match, and we also wanted him to get the ball into the box faster. "Suknia" had a lot of moments today where he controlled the ball. However, it most often ended with a backward pass, and we wanted to be more aggressive in terms of those offensive actions." - he said.

Towards the end of the match, the White Star players often allowed their opponents into their penalty area. Is this one of the areas you'll be working on? "Of course, we'd like to have possession of the ball, to control the match, even if we were leading by one goal. But there's also an opponent on the other side, who today – as I said – were quite good and also posed a threat in front of our goal. Although it must be admitted that the first goal we conceded was a bit too easy." - he assessed.

Angel Rodado made his return from a short layoff due to a shoulder injury and immediately added a goal to his tally. Does this mean the player is fully ready? "It's known that Angel is a player who has a very good finishing ability. When he's facing the opponent's goal, his effectiveness is high. Besides the goal, he had two other situations where it was very dangerous. Of course, I assess it positively, very positively. When you come in and score a goal, it's hard to assess it any differently. So I'm very happy that Angel returned quickly from the injury, he helped the team, and that's what it was all about." he said.

Wisła often restarted the game with long passes, is this a permanent element of your game? "It's not a constant. We were in the lead, and the players on the pitch decided that this was the way they wanted to start the attack after winning the second ball, to move the opponent a little further away, and also to move themselves closer to the midfield. These are decisions made on the pitch by the players. It's important that it ultimately proves effective." - he analyzed.

This is your third victory in a row. Did the team mentally win this match again? "The fact that even when we concede the first goal, we play until the end and do it with faith and don't give up—I don't think it's just about these three matches, because there have been many such matches. However, we always play to win, and even though we're not in full control of the match in every phase, because of course the opponent also has their moments, we win matches because that's the main goal. I remember a lot of comments about how we create a lot of chances, but we can't win at home, so now we're winning, let's celebrate. Of course, you always want these to be great victories, high victories. However, this is the end of the season. Teams that have been fighting for relegation lately are coming. There's a lot of ambition there, a lot of fight, but these are also teams that have their strengths and try to fight back, and sometimes we have to work really hard defensively. I think that's the key to winning subsequent matches." - he said.

Two goals, but there could have been more. Was the efficiency disappointing again? "As I said, there's a certain dissatisfaction, especially after the early stages of the game, we had two very good chances, and that was the first. And the second... Yes, there were a lot of shots from around the sixteen-meter mark. We'd certainly like to see more of them go in and end up with a goal. But that's not always the case."

So let's return for a moment to the topic of Wisła's striker, Angel Rodado. Do you regret that the Spaniard didn't play in the Super Cup, and will we see him from the start in the upcoming matches? "I wouldn't like to answer the second part of the question, because that would give away the lineup for the upcoming match. And as for any disappointment related to the Super Cup and Angel's inability to play, he's obviously a player who doesn't need to be promoted at all. We know how important he is. But sometimes in football, there are injuries, so we have to deal with them. In that particular match, "Suknia" played his role very well, so I think there's no point in speculating," he added.

Angel Baena played very well in Wednesday's match, scoring a goal. Is this a matter of his maturity and having worked through certain footballing issues? "I'd definitely like him to have better numbers. I think he's doing quite well this season. We still have a few matches ahead of us, so I'm hoping he'll improve. However, the important thing is that he's a player who often does individual work during the training sessions that are designated for that purpose, and it shows that when it comes to finishing, there's progress. I'm very happy about that, because I believe that if you work hard on certain elements, it will pay off over time, so that's definitely the case with Baena."

Could we see another surprise lineup during Sunday's match against Odra Opole? Do you anticipate any rotation? "If anything, it will be for the next match, because after that we'll be entering these weekly, five- or six-day micro-cycles. We'll see, we'll think about it, we'll monitor the players' fatigue. I'll talk to them individually, as I usually do, and the players who are 100 percent ready will definitely play." - he concluded.