Rubi: 'We're not happy with the point, but our effort earned it'

UD Almería head coach Rubi expressed frustration after his side's dramatic 4-4 draw with Albacete Balompié in their season opener, praising the team's resilience but also highlighting significant defensive shortcomings.

In his post-match comments, UD Almería head coach Rubi reflected on a match full of highs and lows. 'We started off quite inaccurately. The opening goal came from a huge mistake on a throw-in, but after Embarba's equaliser, we played a solid first half,' he said. 'In the second half, we went ahead 2-1, but having been 3-1 up on three occasions, it ended in a 2-2 draw, which left us shaken. Then came 7 awful minutes where we lost control repeatedly.'

Despite the dramatic nature of the game, the Catalan was clear in his disappointment with the result. 'We can’t be happy with the point, but our hard work earned it,' he added.

The Vilassar de Mar native also noted the attacking potential of his team, although he refused to downplay Albacete BP’s own offensive display. 'If you look at the total number of chances, we could've won, but I don’t take away any credit from the 4 goals they scored against us. The reality is that we can't afford to concede so many easy chances,' he explained.

The gaffer addressed the individual goals conceded, pointing out where his team went wrong. 'The first goal wasn’t the defence’s fault; it came from midfield. The second goal, Agus scored an extraordinary shot. On the third, the defence wasn’t sharp enough, and on the fourth, we were pushing for the win but got caught out.'

Rubi concluded by acknowledging the fight shown by his players, though he remained unsatisfied with the result. 'I'm not happy, but I think the fans saw a team that gave it their all until the final minute. We deserved to win, but we could've lost it too. What concerned me most was the emotional reaction after conceding a goal and how it affected our focus, leaving us with a bad taste after conceding so many goals.'