"Although we couldn’t show the performance we wanted in the first half, we managed to take control of the game in the second. Our opponent put up a strong fight in the first half."
This is what Slovenia’s Celje player Franko Kovacevic said in an interview with Teleqraf regarding their 3-2 win over Sabah in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round, held at Alinja Stadium (Bank Respublika Arena), Idman.biz reports.
The 26-year-old Croatian striker, who scored twice early in both halves, admitted the victory didn’t come easily: “It was a tough match for us. Yes, we scored three goals, and I’m happy to have helped my team with two of them. But it was a tense game. Sabah fought well against us.”
Kovacevic also expressed confidence in progressing to the next round: “The second leg will be at home. We won the first match, but we can’t afford to relax. A one-goal lead isn’t much. We’ll fight as hard as we can and move on to the next round.”
The return match between the teams will take place on July 17 in Slovenia at the Celje Stadium, kicking off at 22:00 Baku time.
Idman.biz
