Martinez: Not enough tempo, no possession and we didn’t have forward intent
Everton manager Roberto Martinez was scathing of his sides first 25 minutes of the Europa League tie at home to Dynamo Kiev, but said that the rest of the game they were excellent.
Martinez said that the tempo was poor and that meant there was not a lot of attacking but the Catalan was proud of how his team reacted and said second half was outstanding.
“I would say the first 25 minutes was a huge contrast to the rest of the game,” he said. “We grew into the first half and in many ways it was how we have been in the league this season. There was a lot of anxiety, not enough tempo, no possession and we didn’t have a forward intent.
“Then we lost our man in the six yard box and gave a goal away. That made things very difficult but I couldn’t be prouder of the reaction.
“I thought we finished the half very strong in terms of scoring a very good goal and having an effort cleared off the line.”
“The second half was an outstanding performance,” added Martinez. “I think we were ourselves at our very best.
“We controlled the game completely. It was wave after wave but you have to be very aware not to leave yourself exposed against a team like Dynamo.
“They have got excellent individuals but we stopped them from being a threat.
“You cannot underestimate a win in Europe and I thought the way we did it was fantastic. Our intensity in possession was very good and then to be able to win a game against a side with a winning mentality was very pleasing.”
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