Echteld says AZ paid for first-half naivety against Juventus
The AZ coach was encouraged by his side’s response after the break but admitted costly mistakes left them with too much ground to recover.
AZ coach Echteld believes first-half naivety proved decisive as his side finished empty-handed against Juventus despite producing a much stronger display after the interval. He felt AZ occasionally played well before the break but were punished heavily for their mistakes around the two goals conceded.
Speaking to Ziggo Sport, Echteld criticised his players for committing too quickly in challenges and taking unnecessary risks inside their own half. “You cannot start juggling in your own half,” he said, as reported by VI. Against a team of Juventus’s quality and physical strength, he argued, those errors were always likely to be exploited.
AZ improved considerably in the second half and managed to impose their preferred style for longer periods. Echteld highlighted Elijah Dijkstra’s movement as an important source of chances, while Ro-Zangelo Daal and Kees Smit combined effectively. He was also pleased with the contributions of substitutes Smit, Dijkstra and Ayoub Oufkir.
A late AZ goal that could have brought the scores level was correctly disallowed for offside, according to Echteld. The coach felt his team might have deserved a draw based on its second-half performance, but acknowledged that the recovery began too late. While encouraged by the growing energy and quality of AZ’s play, he said the team still needs more goals to turn promising displays into victories.
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