Jose Antonio Barrio, the UCM Madrid coach, believes they can qualify for the European Shield quarter-finals by overturning a five-point deficit when they host Lisboa Rugby Club in the Second Leg of their Round 1 matches.
The Spanish club went down 17-12 last weekend but have all to play for with home advantage at Campo Central on Saturday.
"The First Leg game was really tight with only a few points difference at the end," said Barrio.
"We fought very strongly and tried not to let go and at half-time the scores were still level.
"I was amazed how quickly the final whistle went and the match was over. Of course we are a bit disappointed and frustrated with the defeat because we controlled possession most of the time.
"But even if we can't forget the defeat, the outcome is not that bad. The unpredictable conclusion in the second half gives us hope for the return match next Saturday.
"Now we know we are certainly able to reverse the situation against Lisboa to our advantage and that's what we are going to work on.
"The most important thing is to make sure the game will be as open as possible - and then accept all the opportunities that come our way. The entire team is strongly motivated to win and qualify for the quarter-finals.
"If we can manage to keep the same domination of the ball and on the ground as we did in the away tie then I believe we can make up the points difference but we have to make sure that this time we turn possession into points.
"The training programme this week will concentrate on our defence. Most of our efforts have to concern our defensive lines, giving them more speed and mobility to try and keep Lisboa scoreless as long as we can manage.
"And we learnt a great deal about Lisboa from the First Leg match - that they are a fine and dangerous team with very fast replacements.
"They handle well by opening up the game and increasing their chances of launching counter-attacks.
"I am really looking forward to Saturday's big challenge because it could be the first time Madrid have the opportunity of passing over the eliminatory phase in a European competition.
"We are expecting a very hard time in the Second Leg but we keep the faith and gladly pick up this challenge.
"I am proud of what we've done so far in the first match because in a European way we are representing Spain in the competition so we'll make sure we give it our best efforts."
