Borussia Dortmund skipper Waldemar Anton lamented his side's lackluster display in the first half of their 1-0 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Fredrik Sjovold struck in the 52nd minute to down the BVB, who were devoid of any attacking firepower whilst also looking disorganized in defense.
The Superlaget came flying out of the blocks and got a shot away after just 21 seconds into the match, after which there was just no looking back for them.
Patrick Berg attempted a shot from a good position in the ninth minute but Anton got in the way to block it, but the sequence continued and culminated with Jens Hauge firing a shot shortly after.
Hauge then called Gregor Kobel into action once more while Sondre Fet fired narrowly wide off target in the 19th minute as Dortmund were firmly on the backfoot.
Anton later reflected on the half after the match, as the BVB captain told the press:
"We knew what we were up against. We’re not using that as an excuse. We simply didn’t play well in the first half — both with and without the ball — and were always a step too late."
He also lamented how the side failed to exert themselves physically into the contest:
"We weren’t physical enough and lacked intensity. You can't win without that intensity. It clearly wasn't enough. "
Dortmund were ultimately made to pay for their sluggishness in the 52nd minute when Sjovold turned home a cutback from Sondre Auklend following some excellent work on the right.
Kovac soon rung in the changes, making four changes at the stroke of 60 minutes, throwing in Serhou Guirassy, Ethan Nwaneri, Felix Nmecha and Julian Ryerson.
The impact was visible, as Dortmund looked more stable, creative and aggressive, with Guirassy, Nwaneri and Nmecha all coming close to scoring too.
However, Bodo remained stern, with goalkeeper Haikin also producing some excellent saves much to their detriment.
Anton spoke of their inability to convert goalscoring opportunities late on:
"After conceding the goal, we started to actually play football. In the end, we had chances to tie it up at 1-1. We have to be clinical in front of goal, especially in Champions League road games. That was another one of our problems today."
The loss relegated Dortmund to 18th place in the Champions League table as they have three points - gained from their opening day win over Villarreal - in three games.
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