Echteld complains about missed chances after loss at Sunderland

On the cold evening in Sunderland, AZ under the guidance of coach Leeroy Echteld suffered a 1‑0 defeat in the Europa League, but the Dutch coach could not hide behind the disappointment and praised his team's play in the second half.

Echteld indicated that his team, in his view, deserved more than the final result. “There was more in us,” he said afterwards.

He started with the words: “I think we started well. Afterwards they were able to push us back and we got out of it sporadically.” He then emphasized: “In the second half we corrected a few things and I made the players aware that we are good, but we need to show more courage against teams like this.”

Echteld was “proud” of the players who, after the break, knew how to play their own game. “It is bitter to concede a goal in this way,” he said, “I felt that if we hadn’t conceded that goal, we would have scored ourselves, because we were the better team in the second half.”

Unfortunate penalty cost crucial ball

When the ball was lost relatively high on the pitch, AZ could not correct the situation any longer, according to the coach. “It was just an unlucky penalty, I think,” he explained. He added that missed chances will be analysed, but that it was “a real shame” that none of those balls ended up in the net.

According to Echteld, the loss shows that AZ, despite moments of quality, still needs to learn to convert chances into goals to progress further in the Europa League.