FK Žalgiris Vilnius head coach Andrius Skerla says his side must quickly move on from last week’s dramatic win over Dinamo Tbilisi as they prepare to face Hajduk Split in the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round.
The Lithuanian champions host the first leg in Vilnius on Thursday, 6 August, with kick-off at 20:00 local time. Skerla expects a packed home crowd, but stressed the need to avoid falling into an early deficit after describing Hajduk as “a different calibre of team”.
“We had a good week. When a team wins, players recover quicker,” Skerla said. “We had enough time to recover and prepare for the next match. A serious challenge awaits, but we will play at home, in front of full stands. We know what opponent is coming and we will be ready.”
Skerla has previous insight into the Croatian side after visiting Split during Valdas Dambrauskas’ spell in charge, alongside assistant Rolandas Džiaukštas.
“We joke that it was an internship then, and now we’ll have to put it into practice,” he added. “It’s a very big club with a huge fan community. I attended their matches and training sessions, felt the aura of the stadium. It’s incredible how people love football and their club.”
Žalgiris began their first two qualifying rounds away from home, but this time start in Vilnius. Skerla said the aim is to take a better position into the return leg, warning that the type of comeback they produced against Dinamo Tbilisi cannot be relied upon.
“In the last round we created a miracle, but miracles don’t happen that often,” he said. “We have to understand that Hajduk are a completely different level of team. If we repeat the result from the first match in Tbilisi, the chances to recover would be very small.”
He added that the attention following the Dinamo comeback must not distract the squad. “Those emotions were something you don’t often experience as a coach or player,” Skerla said. “But that’s the past. Now we have to return to reality. Very serious matches are coming.”
Žalgiris’ staff have analysed Hajduk’s Conference League ties and a Croatian league match, with Skerla describing their recent form as inconsistent but underlined the quality within the squad and the impact of summer recruitment.
“Maybe they are not showing the results the fans expect right now, because they’ve had a few defeats,” he said. “But individually their players are strong. It’s a good mix of experienced and young footballers. It’s hard to predict the line-up because the coach rotates a lot, probably still looking for the best option.”
Skerla said midfielder Rokas Pukštas is a key figure for Hajduk. “I think he is one of the team’s leaders and main players,” he said. “He is very active, always wants the ball, has good dribbling and stands out at the moment. He can play as a holding midfielder or an attacking midfielder.”
Source: https://fkzalgiris.lt/a-skerla-pries-dvikova-su-hajduk-tai-kito-kalibro-komanda/
