Anderlecht coach Ariel Jacobs praises TNS's spirit
Anderlecht coach Ariel Jacobs believes his side made life more difficult for themselves than it should have been - but praised the spirit of The New Saints.
Anderlecht coach Ariel Jacobs believes his side made life more difficult for themselves than it should have been - but praised the spirit of The New Saints.
The Belgians returned home with a 3-1 first leg lead from the third qualifying round clash, making them firm favourites in next week's return leg to keep their flag flying in the lucrative Champions League.
But Jacobs felt his side took their foot off the pedal after carving a two-goal lead during an impressive first 20 minutes at Wrexham's Racecourse last night.
"For the first 20 minutes we played some good football at a good pace, scored two goals and could have had more," said a forthright Jacobs.
"But we then switched off, stopped doing the good things and started to run everywhere and give them more space.
"The Saints showed their character and played with great heart and had mental strength to come back but we should have made it an easier scenario for ourselves.
"When they scored, it woke us up and we got a third goal.
"But for me, the tie is not over yet, you never know what can happen."