The Sporting CP coach reacts to the 1-1 draw with SC Braga

After the 1-1 draw between Sporting Clube de Portugal and SC Braga, coach Rui Borges gave a press conference to talk about the contest.

Analysis of the game
"Nothing changes. Our ambition is the same. It's a result that we neither wanted nor expected. We had chances to have made it 2-0. We didn't manage to and were penalised for it. We started very well, and SC Braga rebalanced the game without creating any danger. In the second half, we started very badly, and we were apathetic and reactive. We allowed SC Braga to gain confidence, but then we balanced the game out until the equaliser, which came when the game was completely under control. We had several opportunities to finish the game off and increase the scoreline, and were punished for not taking them with the game almost over."

Substitutions
"Conrad Harder's late entry into the game was an option. Zeno Debast came off because he was very tired. We tried to hold on a little longer, but it wasn't possible anymore."

Change of position in the table
"It's not the same being in first or second place, but it doesn't change our approach. To be champions, we had to win our games. The margin of error has decreased, but we continue to depend on ourselves and our thought of winning the next game doesn't change. We will turn our focus to CD Santa Clara and remain focused."

The fans' reaction
"It's part of things. It's a sign of the pressure on me and on all of us. I understand that they are frustrated, like we are. We really wanted to win, but we didn't do it. The team have the makings of champions, because if we didn't, we wouldn't have been in first place until now."

The strategy
"In the first 30 minutes we were clearly the better side, and the team were 100 percent focused. We knew very well where we had to look for spaces to be able to get into the final third. When we started to feel some difficulty in terms of tiredness, we let SC Braga grow in possession and we started to make bad decisions. It had a lot to do with fatigue, because strategically we were fine."

Fatigue
"There were three or four players who were feeling it physically, that's no excuse for the result. Fatigue is part of the game and we have to be able to deal with it. It's natural that we can't press for 90 minutes."