San Marino v Cyprus, Cevoli and Golinucci: “Learn from mistakes and build on the positives”

Ahead of tomorrow’s match against Cyprus (San Marino Stadium, 15:00), Alessandro Golinucci returns after serving a one-match suspension. The San Marino midfielder spoke at today’s pre-match press conference alongside Head Coach Roberto Cevoli. “We will need to approach this match with the same spirit we have shown in all the games we’ve played so far, and not only work to cut out our mistakes but also build on the good things we did – at times – even in Vienna. Unfortunately, I only saw the game on TV, but I watched half an hour in which San Marino tried to play, beat the press and develop vertical moves. That is exactly what we want tomorrow as well, with theaim of playing Cyprus on equal terms. In general, it is never easy to put heavy defeats like the one in Austria behind you quickly, but the only thing we can, want and must do is train and get straight back out on the pitch. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to play another match just 2–3 days later, which gives us the chance to make ourselves – and others – forget what happened before.”

On the same wavelength is San Marino Head Coach Roberto Cevoli: “I’m expecting a tough game, as indeed all of our games are in the international arena. We know we need to improve after the heavy defeat we suffered: the lads will have to show pride and a desire to bounce back in order to put in a good performance. Cyprus are a strong opponent and have recently achieved some very good results; we will have to play our part to produce a performance worthy of our name. Of course, it is a good thing to get straight back onto the pitch so we can quickly put the previous match behind us. We are working to limit mistakes and improve, and – as Alessandro pointed out – I don’t think everything in Vienna was to be thrown away. For half an hour we put together some excellent moves, we played our way out of the press and went forward vertically on more than one occasion. All of this must give the boys belief, because even against such a strong side we still managed to do some positive things – albeit in spells. Against Cyprus, who are not at Austria’s level, we hope to do so with greater consistency, aiming to achieve a very different result.”

These are the 24 players involved in today’s training session, from whom the 23-man official squad for tomorrow’s San Marino v Cyprus fixture will be selected: