The two managers shared their thoughts on Saturday's friendly game at the Sostoi.
Marko Nikolic:
"We basically played well throughout the entire game and especially in the first half. It might sound strange that I say this as we conceded two goals during the first period. However, we created several chances at the same time. It is true that the majority were not converted. Slaven scored very easy goals and we made errors in the middle, which they took advantage of and they defended well and hit us on the counter attack. We played with a good tempo despite our errors, and we gave the chance to those players that have had limited match time. This game was useful from several aspects. We had young players out there and both Elvir Hadzic and Martin Takacs both played, despite being members of our second team. We also saw young Patrik Reti out there on the pitch for the second time. It is very good that they picked up some experience and I am sure that they will get more chances."
Tomislav Ivkovic:
"I am satisfied with my team. We made many changes at half time and the youngsters came on for the second half. I have not been at the club for a long time, so I was curious about the players and how they would play. Naturally we made errors but it was not a bad performance. I would like us to perform better in the domestic league. I really want us to play real football. The team have not scored many goals in the league this season, so I am pleased that we scored twice in the first half. So we will need to play football and that will bring with it good results."
Author: David Rechnitzer