Dinamo Minsk forward Karen Vardanyan has warned that his side cannot afford to relax despite defeating Azerbaijan's Neftchi 4-2 in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round.
As reported by İdman.Biz, citing teleqraf.az, the Armenian-born attacker, who scored twice and provided an assist in Baku, admitted the Belarusian side did not expect to come from two goals down.
"Of course not. We didn't start the match the way we wanted. But we found the strength to turn the game around and everything worked out well," Vardanyan said.
The forward described the match as one of the best performances of his European club career.
"You could say so. I scored two goals and made an assist. Baku will remain in my memory because of that. It was a very important Conference League match. It doesn't really matter to me who the opponent is or where the game is played. The most important thing is for my team to win and reach the next round."
Looking ahead to the return leg, Vardanyan said he hopes Dinamo Minsk will secure another victory.
"I'm not sure whether I'll score a hat-trick, but I'll definitely try to score again."
Despite the two-goal advantage, the 24-year-old insisted the tie is far from over and praised Neftchi's quality.
"Neftchi are a good team with very good players. We cannot relax under any circumstances. We'll fight with everything we have because we still haven't qualified for the next round."
The return leg will be played at a neutral venue after Dinamo Minsk claimed a 4-2 away victory in Baku.
