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“We have to be more aggressive at home”

Manolo González was disappointed with the 1-1 draw at home to FC Andorra

RCD Espanyol men’s head coach Manolo González reflected on a frustrating afternoon in the 1-1 draw with FC Andorra on Sunday.

González said, “The first half was there to take by the scruff of the neck and do our best, including me. Anyone who has eyes and knows a bit about football knows what we did. We needed to put in way more crosses, this was a game to get it in the box. You cannot drop points at home. All the remaining games are going to be very complicated and not winning at home is a disaster.

“Today we had to win and in the first half we did nothing to win the game. There are going to be bad moments and games. Not just for us, it will happen to all our promotion rivals”.

Espanyol went behind in the first half at the Stage Front Stadium, and the equaliser came after the break thanks to Martin Braithwaite’s finish. There was late drama when they were denied a penalty for a shove on José Gragera in stoppage time, which neither onfield referee Miguel González Díaz nor the VAR did not deem to be a spot kick.

On the penalty controversy, González responded, “No. Let's stop with the excuses. I'm left with the fact that we came from behind to equalise. But we have to be more aggressive at home, both with and without the ball. Respect is earned. To win you have to do things well. Today we did well in some aspects but poorly in others, looking for excuses is of no use".