“It was the first game of the championship. We knew it would be tough.”
Idman.biz reports that these words were said by Urfan Abbasov, captain of Araz-Nakhchivan, in an interview with Sport24.az.
The full-back shared his thoughts on their opening match of the Misli Premier League, a 1-1 draw away against Zira: “We had also come from a tough trip, so there was both physical and mental fatigue. The defeats in the matches against Omonia had affected us a bit. But in the first round, we tried to give our all. Even though our performance wasn’t perfect, we didn’t lose. We’ll focus on the next games and aim to reach our optimal form.”
Abbasov mentioned conceding an unexpected goal in the first half: “Our coach gave specific instructions during the break. We tried to turn the match around. It was a tough game, but at least we secured a point.”
He also touched on the tension on the field among players: “Neither team wants to lose. That probably creates some tension. Zira, like us, wanted to win. We go into every match aiming for three points. No one wants to be defeated. You can see that in the matches. In the opening round, we watched all the games. Everyone wants points, so there’s a lot of fighting on the field.”
Finally, Abbasov spoke about Araz-Nakhchivan’s goals for the season: “Every team aims to compete for top positions. That’s our goal too. We plan to be among the medalists.”
Idman.biz
