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After the Super League Matchday 5 game between Nasaf and Surkhon, head coach of the home side Ro’ziqul Berdiev spoke at the press conference.
About the match
— We took the lead in the first half, and in the second half we could have played more calmly. Unfortunately, we didn't capitalize on our chances — I counted, we had five real goal-scoring opportunities.
After the red card in the second half, we had to focus on defense to secure the three points. Except for one episode, our guys defended well in all other situations.
— Sharof Mukhitdinov didn’t perform well today, which surprised us a bit.
— I wouldn’t fully agree with that, because in the situation where we scored, Sharof made the right and beautiful decision. Instead of shooting, he assisted Cheran in front of an open goal. He’s not a defender, but we are forced to use him in that role. He scored and created chances in the previous game, and contributed to the win here as well. Overall, I’m satisfied with his performance.
— Did you review Oybek Bozorov’s red card? Did the referee think he headbutted someone?
— We have complaints about the refereeing, especially in the first half. In the red card incident, the referee didn’t consult VAR — everything happened quickly. He had the chance to communicate with VAR, but made a swift decision. We will file an official protest.
— What were the instructions given to Cheran after the red card?
— Since we changed the formation, we asked Cheran to play as a central midfielder in a 5-3-1 system.
— Cheran played with a lot of emotion today.
— Of course, some referee decisions made him emotional. Cheran worked very hard and contributed to the team’s victory.
— Did you notice any injury with Cholovich?
— He was rather passive today, so we subbed him out. Maybe in the next matches we’ll give others a chance.
— Hebay trained yesterday. Can he help in the next game?
— Not yet, he’s not ready. But we’re happy he returned without excess weight and has been training. Soon he’ll return to full team practice and regain form. He’d be very useful now, as Husain Norchaev is having some injury concerns, and we’d rotate more.
— When will we see Nasrullaev?
— He’ll return to full training tomorrow.
— They say “no future without history”. Let’s go back in time. When you played, Nasaf’s stadium was in Old Town at “Mehnatchi”. When Pakhtakor came, fans even stood in the aisles. Why has interest dropped now?
— I have thoughts on that, but I’ll keep them to myself. Maybe back then football was still new. 15,000 fans would fill the stadium two hours before kick-off. They’d sit in the aisles and even climb the floodlights. Perhaps smaller matches aren’t as interesting now. We would love stronger support — fans play a big role.
— At the end of the first half, what would you have done in Husain Norchaev’s position?
— Maybe he should’ve gotten closer. He rushed a bit. He did well one-on-one, but credit must go to Potapov too. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!
01:58, 13-04-2025
