Vincenzo Montella feels Roma have broken their psychological block after snatching a late victory at the Stadio Via del Mare. “It's a real turning point.”
This season the Giallorossi have repeatedly thrown away points in the final half-hour and conceded an equaliser against Lecce this evening before David Pizarro's stoppage-time penalty.
“I saw a good performance and we dominated the first half, even if we sometimes held on to the ball for too long,” said the Coach with seven points from his three games in charge.
Vincenzo Montella feels Roma have broken their psychological block after snatching a late victory at the Stadio Via del Mare. “It's a real turning point.”
This season the Giallorossi have repeatedly thrown away points in the final half-hour and conceded an equaliser against Lecce this evening before David Pizarro's stoppage-time penalty.
“I saw a good performance and we dominated the first half, even if we sometimes held on to the ball for too long,” said the Coach with seven points from his three games in charge.
“We sat back a bit too much in the second half, putting less pressure on their midfield, then there was the incident that led to Lecce's goal.
“The fact remains our hunger won out and we deserved the victory, as in terms of quality and overall performance Roma did better than Lecce.
“It is a psychological issue that made the team tense after conceding so many goals in the same period of games. That is why the fact we pushed through and even won it at the 90th minute can be a real turning point. We're on the right track, but can still do much better.”
The next week will be crucial for Montella, who'll face his Champions League debut away to Shakhtar Donetsk before facing Lazio in the Derby della Capitale.
“We've got to take it one game at a time. I think we can do it in Ukraine and we're going there for the win, because we have belief and know we're capable of it. Then we've got to see how it pans out.”
There has been talk of tension within the locker room, so there will be headlines after Marco Borriello and Pizarro appeared to argue over who would take the penalty.
“Pizarro was the designated taker, then he offered it to Marco only to change his mind again,” explained the Coach.
“These things can happen. They both wanted to take the kick, so were eager to take responsibility. Of course, if I'd still been a player, there would've been no debate!”