In the 20th round of the Chinese Super League on July 28, Meizhou Hakka lost 2-4 to Qingdao Hainiu on the road. After the match, Meizhou Hakka head coach Ristic attended the press conference and gave an in-depth analysis and summary of the match.
Ristic congratulated Qingdao Hainiu on their victory and thanked the fans for their support. He especially mentioned the Hakka fans who traveled a long way and their enthusiastic support, which created a good atmosphere for the team to play.
When it came to the game itself, Ristic's review seemed a little different. He insisted that despite the team's eventual loss, in some ways Meizhou Hakka was the side that did better, especially in the second half. He pointed out the problem of the team suffering three consecutive penalty kicks awarded in the match, which he believes is the biggest challenge the team is currently facing. Ristic emphasized that the penalty issue is not the responsibility of one player, but one that the whole team needs to share.
During the halftime break, Ristic had sent positive signals to his team, encouraging his players to have a chance to create goals and turn the game around as long as they didn't concede in the second half. However, the reality did not turn out the way he wanted, and although the team scored a goal in the second half, they were unable to recover from the defeat.
Despite the unsatisfactory result of the match, Ristic did not completely lose confidence. He believes that the team also created some absolute chances in the game, but just failed to grasp them, which has an element of luck.
Looking ahead, Ristic said that the most important thing now is for the players to regain their strength and confidence as soon as possible to get ready for the next matches. Especially in the upcoming match against Tianjin at home, he will lead the team to go all out to get a good result at home and realize the rebound.
