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Sef Vergoossen admitted at the post-match press conference that he was obviously disappointed PSV had been eliminated from the UEFA Cup, but the PSV head coach maintained his team would be ready to face the challenge on Sunday, when they play host to FC Twente. 'I am convinced we will rise to the occasion and I am not worried in the least bit', he told media representatives at the Philips Stadium, after his side had slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Fiorentina.
'You don't have to be an expert to notice that we lost control in the first half', started Sef Vergoossen his analysis of the game. He added he was shocked after watching his side lose 2-0 to Fiorentina and exit the UEFA Cup at the quarter-finals stage. 'I feel shocked by the way we conceded defeat. We are partly to blame for the problems ourselves. We were frequently closed down and dispossessed and consequently failed to build up any pressure.' PSV tried to put pressure on the Fiorentina defence after the break, but Vergoossen knew it was all over when Fiorentina had scored their second goal of the evening. 'Of course we are disappointed.. We knew beforehand we would face a tall task, but we felt we had a fair chance of reaching the semi-finals. So it is a huge blow that we failed to meet expectations. But I am convinced we will rise to the occasion on Sunday and I am not worried in the least bit. We have progressed to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and had hoped to book a place in the semi-finals, but we have to accept that we did not make it.'
Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli claimed the Italians had made the trip to the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven, feeling confident they would be able to win and they succeeded to do so. 'Our forwards made the difference. We played with character and showed a positive attitude throughout, producing a great performance against a good team, so we are delighted with our achievement. We have silenced a few critics, who were not content with last week's 1-1 draw in Florence, but we have made amends tonight, showing a great team spirit. This is a massive win for us, but we will continue to take one game at a time.'
Fiorentina will meet Glasgow Rangers in the last four. Rangers defeated Sporting Clube de Portugal 2-0 in Lisbon, and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. Zenit will face Bayern Munich in the other semi-final tie. The Russians suffered a 1-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in St Petersburg on Thursday night, but comfortably reached the last four after thrashing Bayer 4-1 in Germany last week. 10-man Getafe were cruelly eliminated from the UEFA Cup. After last week's 1-1 draw in Germany, Bayern Munich snatched a 3-3 draw and victory on away goals.
