Miguel Herrera cheers win over Chivas: ‘’It’s an important step towards the play-offs’'
The Tigres coach called for calm after the 1-4 win which strengthens the team’s position in the final play-off place.
Tigres achieved a much-needed victory against Chivas on Wednesday, thrashing the hosts 1-4 and boosting their chances of securing a place in the play-offs. The result might suggest that it was all one-way but as coach Miguel Herrera admitted afterwards, that wasn’t the case. The Auriazul coach called for calm ahead of the team’s remaining matches but praised his players for not getting distracted during the duel with Chivas.
“Yes, we have taken an important step. This was a game we had to win to remain in with a chance of making the first four. To do that, we have to get the remaining six points. We are scoring goals and we’re looking to score goals but if we don’t defend well, guys, don’t worry. Today we scored goals, even if that meant leaving ourselves open. We had to go in search of the game, but for the first part of the game we were not well positioned - it was only later that the team started to make inroads. Then, in the second half, we could have scored another three goals. It wasn’t that we dropped back - that was the case at the beginning because we were badly positioned,” the coach said.
The Auriazules are currently fourth with 27 points, and dependent on what will happen to América, Santos and Pachuca in their games. The Laguneros could knock them back down to fifth if they beat América at the Azteca on Wednesday night.
As for Nahuel Guzmán’s excellent performance, El Piojo was not surprised at all, and added that the Argentinean has produced when it matters most during the past five years, and is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the country.
“Nahuel did his job, he rose to the occasion as he always has in this team. He was extraordinary tonight but not only in today’s game, he has been a leader in this team for five years”, he added.
The Rosario-born keeper produced six superb saves during the match, and was only beaten once - right at the end when Ángel Zaldívar got the better of him with a great finish. It wasn’t all good news however, despite the victory, Tigres will be without Luis Quiñones for Friday’s game against Puebla due to suspension.