Bilic pleased to take three points despite poor performance
Sunday, 08 Jun 2008 21:19
Slaven Bilic was relieved to have seen his side win
Slaven Bilic congratulated his Croatia side for winning their opening group game of the European Championships but was disappointed with their overall performance.
A fourth minute penalty from Luka Modric earned his side a 1-0 victory over the tournament co-hosts Austria but it was a far from impressive performance.
Austria could have taken something from the game but several headers and a good save from Stipe Pletikosa ensured Croatia took three points.
But Bilic insisted that the win and not the performance was the most important thing.
"We are delighted because we got the start we wanted and it will give us a lot of confidence. I have to congratulate my players for the effort," he explained.
But he revealed that he was not "entirely happy" with the second half performance and preferred to concentrate on the positives of the opening period where his side enjoyed long periods of possession.
"The early goal helped us a lot. We controlled the first half flawlessly, but then withdrew to the defence too much," he said.
"We were very good in the opening period and should have led by a bigger margin at half-time," Bilic added.
Croatia's next match is against Germany on June 12th before they finish their group fixtures against Poland.