Serse Cosmi sat on the bench staring into space for several minutes after Crotone fumbled a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 with Bologna. ‘Psychologically, that was a real blow.’
The Squali have certainly improved since Cosmi replaced Giovanni Stroppa, but the issue that hasn’t changed is their dismal defensive record.
“Aside from going 2-0 up, we had also put in a perfect first half performance. The result was more than deserved,” Cosmi told Sky Sport Italia.
Serse Cosmi sat on the bench staring into space for several minutes after Crotone fumbled a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 with Bologna. ‘Psychologically, that was a real blow.’
The Squali have certainly improved since Cosmi replaced Giovanni Stroppa, but the issue that hasn’t changed is their dismal defensive record.
“Aside from going 2-0 up, we had also put in a perfect first half performance. The result was more than deserved,” Cosmi told Sky Sport Italia.
“If anything, we had chances to extend our lead. From the first touch of the second half, you could tell something had changed, as we gave it away cheaply. We weren’t complacent so much as thinking we could continue what we did in the first half and that would be enough.
“Instead, Bologna changed their system and their personnel, using I think an approach we’d never seen this season from them. I doubt Sinisa Mihajlovic will use it again in future either, as it was so attacking.
“We should’ve made more logical passes, but we conceded two goals with our entire defence in the penalty area.”
After the final whistle, Cosmi just sat on the bench and stared into space for several minutes.
“It’s a shame, because psychologically this was a real blow. If you lose when you are clearly inferior from the start, you accept it in a different way.
“Having said that, whoever thinks they’re going to be up against a Crotone side ready to surrender will be making a huge mistake. This team scored eight goals in the last three games. If eight goals aren’t enough to bring home more than three points in that time, then we have a problem.
“It was a huge disappointment, but not just for me, it was for the city and the fans. A defeat like this feels so much worse, it’s unbearably painful to see such hard work wiped out when you were deservedly 2-0 up.”
It looks inevitable now that Crotone will be relegated, so will Cosmi stay next season?
“When I was negotiating the contract, I didn’t want any clauses that could influence the club’s decisions. I know that clubs are suffering at the moment during this pandemic, which was particularly damaging to the clubs who were run effectively. Ironically, the ones that weren’t run very well are only half as penalised.
“Now there are 10 games to go, we’ll see what happens.”