Estonian champions Flora face a difficult task on Tuesday evening as they attempt to overturn a 2-3 first-leg deficit against Georgian champions Iberia 1999 in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round.
Despite trailing by a goal on aggregate, head coach Konstantin Vassiljev does not believe his side need to reinvent themselves tactically. Instead, he feels the key lies in correcting the costly mistakes that allowed Iberia to take control of the first meeting in Tallinn.
Flora travelled to Georgia a day earlier than usual to recover from the lengthy journey and adapt to the local conditions. According to Vassiljev, the trip went smoothly despite the overnight travel.
“Fortunately, everything went according to plan and we arrived on time, which is the most important thing,” he said. “Travelling overnight isn’t the most enjoyable experience, but there wasn’t much we could do about it. We gave ourselves an extra day to adjust to the weather.”
The weather could also play a significant role in Tuesday’s encounter, with temperatures expected to remain around 30 degrees Celsius at kick-off. Although the match starts after sunset, Vassiljev admitted the conditions will still be far removed from those his players are used to in Estonia.
“It helps a little that the sun will already be down by kick-off and the temperature should gradually start to fall,” he explained. “But compared to the weather in Estonia, these are completely different conditions.”
With that in mind, Flora chose to hold their final training session at the same time as the match rather than later in the evening, allowing the players to experience the conditions they will face during the game.
“We wanted to see what the weather and the pitch would be like at match time,” Vassiljev said. “The other option was to get back to the hotel a little earlier, but we felt this was the better choice.”
There was positive news on the squad front, with every player who travelled to Georgia available for selection. The only absentee will be defender Airon Kollo, who serves a suspension after being sent off in the first leg, although he still travelled with the squad to support his teammates.
Looking back at last week’s encounter, Vassiljev admitted Flora eventually adjusted well to Iberia’s style of play, but the damage had already been done by then. “During the first game we adapted well to our opponents, but unfortunately the score was already 0-2,” he said. “This time we want to stop them from carrying out their game plan right from the start.”
The Flora manager believes improvements are needed in several details, particularly the individual errors that directly led to Iberia’s goals in Tallinn, but he sees little reason to make major tactical changes.
“We want to be braver and more dangerous ourselves,” he added. “There are mistakes and details we have to correct, but I don’t see any reason to make major tactical adjustments.”
Although Flora need at least one goal to force extra time, Vassiljev stressed that chasing the match recklessly from the opening whistle would be the wrong approach.
“Of course we have to think about scoring, but being only one goal behind doesn’t mean we have to rush forward,” he said. “It’s also clear that every goal they score would give them even more confidence and energy.”
Instead, the Estonian champions will look to produce a more controlled performance than they managed in Tallinn, hoping the lessons learned from the first leg will give them a better chance of completing the comeback.
