Article by Cezar Titor – Published on Thursday, 11 December 2025, 22:22 / Updated on Thursday, 11 December 2025 22:24
Filipe Coelho (45 years old), the coach of the University of Craiova, reacted after his team he lost the match in the end with Sparta Prague from the 5th stage of the unique group in the Conference League, score 1-2.
It was the first failure of the Portuguese technician on the Olten bench, who still have chances to qualify for the Conference League play-offs. Craiova University has 7 points and is in 22nd place before the last round, going to play away to AEK Athens on December 18.
Anzor missed a penalty kick in the 38th minute of the match and the first half ended in a 0-0 tie. Albion Rrahmani, the former Rapid forward, opened the scoring in the 50th minute and Nsimba restored the tie with a superb goal from outside the box in the 79th minute. Olten eventually conceded when Matej Rynes scored the decisive goal in the 89th minute.
Filipe Coelho: “I can't be angry with Anzor for missing a penalty”
“I think we played really well against a team with a lot of quality. The first 30-40 minutes were difficult for us, they had a lot of scoring opportunities. It's difficult to lose the game so late, but that's what it is. The players didn't deserve to concede a goal, but we didn't hold out until the end. We continue.
The crucial moment was not the penalty missed by Anzor. It's part of football, although it was a big opportunity. We had other opportunities to score; it was an important moment, but it didn't decide the game.
I'm not mad at Anzor, I'm very happy with his performance. I can't be mad at a player for missing a penalty. I'm not mad at anyone. It is the result that displeases me tonight. The supporters and the team did not deserve this, but we have to learn from this match, from our mistakes.
I think we look good and we showed that with Mainz and Sparta Prague. We should be proud of the players. If we look strictly at their evolution, we should be proud. Nsimba's goal was very nice, but if we had scored one more it would have been even better.
I didn't mind the weather, we can't control the fog. I'm glad the game was played, it was important for us. If it had been delayed, we would have had less time to prepare future games. One day can make a difference. It's no excuse, but Sparta Prague had an extra day of training, which could have made the difference.
The European spring is still possible, maybe, we are playing well, but we have a very important match in the championship waiting for us, for which we have less than 72 hours to prepare. In my view, with all due respect to all other opponents, Sparta Prague is the strongest team we have come across this European season“, said Filipe Coelho, at the press conference after the match.
Conference League group standings
