In the 19th round of the Super League, the derby between Navbahor and Neftchi (0:1) ended in defeat for the Namangan side. After the match, head coach Sergey Lushchan attended the press conference and gave a detailed assessment of the game and the team’s situation.
— Today there was a real fight on the pitch. The derby lived up to its name. In the first half, the opponent had a big advantage, while we could do almost nothing in attack. It was clear the game would be decided by a single goal — whoever made the mistake would likely lose. Unfortunately, that mistake was ours. I cannot blame our goalkeeper, as the strike was very powerful. Such beautiful goals happen in football. Congratulations to Neftchi on the win — their squad is stronger than ours at the moment, — said Lushchan.
Answering what prevented Navbahor from showing their game, he noted:
— First of all, the opponent prevented us. Football without mistakes doesn’t exist, both teams made them. But one goal decided everything. Take our match against Andijan, for example: it could have ended 0:0, but we scored with one strike. That’s football.
About the team’s season goals, Lushchan said:
— I’m not a fortune-teller. We are working hard and not stopping. Yes, we have problems, maybe more than others. In January, at training camp, we had only one player. For any coach, building a full team in five months is difficult. Look at Guardiola’s example: Manchester City spent 1.5 billion, and only in his third season did he win the league. We don’t have such resources. But still, we have set ourselves the task to fight for the league title and the Cup by 2027. For that, everything has to come together.
On his conversation with the goalkeeper after the match:
— We tried to give him moral support. Mistakes happen, that’s part of football. He is a good keeper, no doubt. Now we must focus on the Cup game.
About set pieces, Lushchan added:
— We have players like Zhiyanov and Komilov who can execute set pieces very well. In modern football, they play a decisive role. Today we tried, but it didn’t work. In the Super League, there are no easy games anymore — all teams play at a high level. We will analyze our mistakes and continue working, — concluded Lushchan.
In short, despite the derby loss, Lushchan’s words showed the team hasn’t lost spirit and is preparing seriously for the upcoming matches. His main motto is clear: learn the right lessons from defeats and keep looking forward.
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