However, there were also phases "where the opponent was a notch better in the game and we were repeatedly presented with challenges. Compliments to the opponent, who played passionately and thus created a few situations," Röhl says fairly.
However, Celje was also invited into some of these situations by Salzburg. The "Grofje" could have equalized for the first time already in the first half.
Abubakr Barry lost a ball in the opponent's penalty area after about 27 minutes, Tim Drexler rushed out too hastily, and suddenly Blaz Kramer was through on the left. The clever Celje striker's cross to Veton Tusha also reached its target, only the post saved the "Bulls" in this situation.
"We're currently allowing a tad too much"
But this luck ran out in the 50th minute. Again, the coordination after just one long ball was completely off, left-back Dominik Schmid suddenly had to defend against Kramer on the right as the last man and was beaten by the Slovenian. The consolation goal was a fact.
"At 1-2, the coordination is off. I still say that can happen," Röhl comments on this scene.
However, what annoys the German is the manner in which they ultimately conceded the last-minute equalizer: "We're currently allowing a tad too much. How the 2-2 came about is too easy. We have to eliminate these small things and learn from them very quickly."
Specifically, the 37-year-old means that his team played a short free-kick in their own half during the build-up to the 2-2 and lost the ball.
Not mature enough and too childish
Wir waren in den letzten Minuten teilweise zu kindlich. Wenn du 2:1 führst, musst du nichts mehr beweisen, sondern das Ding über die Bühne bringen.
"We don't execute the free-kick maturely enough. We don't need to play football there anymore; it's about somehow keeping the ball away from the goal," Tim Drexler shakes his head. "We have Haris up front; we have to kick the ball away, not try to play it out short and invite the opponent in that way."
Morgalla adds: "We were too childish at times in the final minutes. When you're leading 2-1, you don't need to prove anything anymore; you just need to get the job done."
Röhl's bitter realization is ultimately: "In this competition, it's about playing flawlessly, because every team has the quality to punish mistakes. We've done better in the past; we were clever enough then."
To still be represented beyond the league phase in this competition, Salzburg will need at least five more, but likely even more points.
Almost forced to win in the upcoming games
And they will probably have to secure these points before the end of this calendar year, after three comparably winnable opponents await in the next three rounds – RSC Anderlecht (a), Ararat Armenia (h), and Sparta Prague – before Bayer Leverkusen (a) and Crystal Palace (h) are on the schedule in what is usually a very tough January for Austrian clubs.
Unsurprisingly, Röhl, who always acts very soberly, does not engage in calculations at this early stage of the league phase. One must take it game by game; "it doesn't make much sense to look too far ahead."
However, he is confident: "We are capable of getting enough points to advance."
From an Austrian perspective, it remains to be hoped that Röhl is right and that the two points carelessly dropped in Celje ultimately do not come back to haunt the "Bulls."
