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Martínez: "The team gave it everything"

The coach gives his assessment of the Copa del Rey exit

Diego Martínez spoke in the aftermath of RCD Espanyol's 1-0 Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Athletic Club on Wednesday, and put the defeat down to a lack of effectiveness in front of goal.

He said, “We found it hard from the beginning. We conceded a lot of turnovers. At the start of the second half we did better and we had the chance to equalise; the goal never came, but the team gave everything that we had".

"We wanted to go through to the next round with a win at a very difficult ground", Martínez explained. "We gave it our all. Athletic were the better side and we have to keep working and fighting, we must keep going."

The coach also recognised that “in order to face games of this type we need to have more time to prepare them. We lacked balance in the first half and we just couldn't find continuity when we had the ball. What I will take away is the idea that the players took a step forward in the second half".

Martínez concluded, "Against an intense opponent, who harass you and make you suffer, we gave it our all. I would have liked us to be more precise at times, but I prefer to focus on the positive things that the team showed".