Toulouse. Facundo Santucci: “We came very close and it hurts”
The Toulouse libero did not hide his disappointment after the cruel elimination against Tours (2-3), last night at home.
Facundo, how do you feel after this defeat against Tours?
The feelings are mixed. On a given whole, really. We faced a great team, which dominates the French championship and which has just lost in the final of the European Cup (against the Italians of Monza, editor’s note). There is the pride of having lived up to this meeting, but there is also the disappointment of having come close and it hurts. The Coupe de France is another competition, you can find yourself in the final by winning three matches. We were keen to play it hard, but against top-level teams, the slightest slack is paid for in cash.
Precisely, you led two sets to one, then you still thought in front of the tie-break: do you regret certain choices?
We should have made better choices at times, yes. You have to know how to sort out a few balls: know which ones you can attack and which ones do not allow it. It is a question of lucidity. We need to make progress in this area. We can not put aside either the quality of the workforce of Tours. They almost changed all their players when they were in trouble. It is a luxury that we cannot afford on our side. Maybe with another team in front we would have won this game.
After winning the third set you struggled to keep up the pressure in the fourth…
Yes and it’s a real regret because they regained confidence much too quickly. We were dropped too quickly. These are things that will have to be worked on.
We will have to forget this disappointment before diving into the play-down. Do you feel the group is ready to take up this challenge?
We do not have a choice. We’re going to have some time to really focus on that. We will have to recover energy because it is a season that is still complicated mentally. We are going to prepare well because all the matches that await us in these play-downs will be finals. It will be played until the end, until the last ball falls on the ground.