Sport : Football

SLOMKA HOPEFUL OF REACHING SEMIS

30th March 2012, 11:18am

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Mirko Slomka: Still hopeful

Mirko Slomka: Still hopeful

Hannover coach Mirko Slomka believes his side still have a chance of reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League, despite being frustrated with Thursday night's 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid.

The Reds conceded a goal in the 89th minute to leave them with a more difficult task at the Niedersachsen Stadion next week.

But Slomka, whose side have not lost at home in Europe all season, remains optimistic.

"We need our fans in the second leg and then we could do it," he said on his club's website.

"We are strong at home. It is not over yet by a long way, but Atletico are favourites.

"It is frustrating when you lose so late on. But we got the away goal and that is important."

Atletico are not taking the task in Hannover lightly either, with their attacking midfielder Diego - who previously played for both Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga - warning against being too confident.

"Hannover are a compact team and the return leg is going to be difficult for us," he said.

"We have a small advantage to take with us to Germany, but it will be tough.

"Hannover are very patient and they are very good on the counter-attack. We are going to have to be careful since they will be stronger at home than they were here."

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