Hajduk secured a place in the Conference League play-off with a convincing victory over Lithuanian side Žalgiris in the second leg. They triumphed 4-0 at Poljud, setting the aggregate score at 9-2 and securing their place in the next round of the competition.
Hajduk will face Polish side Rakow in the play-off. The first leg is scheduled for Thursday, 20 August, with the match to be played at Poljud. The return leg will take place a week later in Czestochowa, where the Split side will be the visitors.
The match was commented on by Gonzalo Garcia, who noted that the team had been conceding an average of two goals per game in the season. The coach stated that goals were being conceded primarily because the team retreated into defence, a situation that had occurred in previous rounds. Thus, against Pafos, Hajduk had conceded goals, while against Žilina the opponent scored from both chances created.
Garcia also mentioned that Istria had scored from several opportunities, but stressed that at home in European competition this season they had remained unbeaten and had not conceded a single goal. The coach added that the team had built their squad 'on the fly', with many new and young players, with some members of the squad not available even three weeks prior.
Despite the challenges, Garcia praised the performance of Livaja, who had played solidly. Given that Hajduk had played a total of eight matches, the coach indicated that the play-off would be tough, but promised that the players would give it their all to progress further.
