“We knew the match would be difficult. We played against a strong team, and although we tried to make some changes, we couldn’t be as effective as we wanted,” said Araz-Nakhchivan player Gara Garayev in an interview with Teleqraf after their 0:4 home loss to Cyprus's Omonia in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round, as reported by Idman.biz.
According to him, in recent years Azerbaijani clubs haven’t faced many opponents of this caliber: “As I mentioned in the press conference earlier, this Omonia is quite different from the previous ones, with a new head coach, a different philosophy, and higher-quality players, they’ve become a more dangerous team. Our team has potential, but the adaptation process isn’t fully complete yet. We need some more time to build a stronger collective. Playing with 10 men in the last 45 minutes in Greece and travel fatigue took their toll. Psychologically, though, we are trying to improve day by day.”
Garayev also noted that the absence of suspended Igor Ribeiro was felt. However, he emphasized they are not making excuses: “There’s no need to dwell on reasons like inexperience, lack of focus, or fatigue. What matters is that we approach the next games with full professionalism.”
The 33-year-old defender sent a message to the fans, asking them not to lose heart: “Araz-Nakhchivan has set out with new goals, and we are doing our best to represent Azerbaijani football with honor. Our aim is to bring joy both to Nakhchivan fans and the entire country.”
Idman.biz
