Fear of conceding cost us says coach

The fear of conceding a goal was what ultimately cost co-hosts Poland a place in the quarter-finals, their coach Franciszek Smuda said after they crashed out of Euro 2012 on Saturday.

Poland needed to beat the Czech Republic to stay in the competition but fell to Petr Jiracek’s 72nd-minute strike in a 1-0 defeat which saw the winners top the group.

It means the Poles have never won a game at the European Championships and never yet made it beyond the group stages.

They dominated the first half but failed to turn possession and pressure into goals and were punished after the break in a limp second-half showing.

“I liked the first half, how we started and how we got involved, we can’t belittle this,” said Smuda.

“After half-time we were too calm and we waited for the Czechs as if we were afraid to concede a goal, and this is when you concede a goal.

“The Czechs really played very good football, especially in the second half. They attacked and pressed and they were better than us at this. We wanted to counter but the Czechs sat back and stopped all our attempts.”

Smuda revealed after the match that his contract was up and that he would be leaving the post.

However, he suggested that a better performance would have seen him offered a new deal.

“I don’t have to resign because my contract was only until the end of this tournament,” said Smuda.

“I had a verbal agreement with the federation for when the contract expires so I know what will happen.”