COACH D’AVERSA AFTER FROSINONE 3-2 PARMA: “WE NEEDED TO CONTROL THE BALL BETTER IN THE FINAL FEW MINUTES”

Frosinone, 3 April 2019 – After his Parma side fell to a 3-2 defeat to Frosinone on Wednesday, this is what Roberto D’Aversa had to say in the Benito Stirpe press room: “

“Frosinone were the better side in the first half. We did well to get back into the game on two occasions. Meanwhile, we were on top in the second and we had a number of chances to take the lead. In the end, we could’ve done better in controlling the ball during the final three minutes. Especially given that this game has now cost us a point that could’ve been important in our league position. The penalty? There was a foul. I haven’t seen it again for a possible offside but there is technology for this and I don’t think there were any mistakes made. We must focus on where we can improve, it’s not down to me to assess the refereeing decisions made.

“I don’t like to mention absentees, instead we should be thinking about our mistakes. We had 11 players out on the pitch and in the second half, we did well to equalise. At that moment, our motivation should’ve been different. It was too important for us to get a result. We need to recover and focus on Saturday’s tough test against Torino. I can’t criticise the players tonight in terms of their commitment. Some of them played despite fitness issues. Ceravolo is an example, gritting his teeth to play and demonstrating his attachment to this shirt. Lately, we’ve committed too many minor mistakes and this has cost us.

“Are players set to return? I hope so, yes. It’ll be down to the medical staff to decide. Each one of us must take care of our own responsibilities and ensure that these absentees don’t weigh us down. We have an objective to achieve. Our league position? We must consider where we started. Last year, we were both in the fight for promotion and now we’re higher up in the league standings. However, this mustn’t mean that we’ve achieved our goal. We know where we started and what is now our objective. And just like we couldn’t remain calm when we were in a better position, we now can’t be fearful because this can lead to mistakes. We try to get a result in every game and the lads tried to do so this evening. On one hand, I must praise the lads for their performance, but on the other, they can’t commit mistakes when there are so few matches remaining. We need to improve on this.

“It’s a shame because we conceded from a free-kick and an avoidable penalty. As for Gervinho’s absence, if I had to choose my man of the match from tonight, then it would be his replacement – Sprocati.”