Following the dramatic match between Bukhara and Sogdiana in the Uzbekistan Cup semi-final, Jizzakh's head coach, Ivan Boshkovich, shared his thoughts at a press conference. First of all, he congratulated the opponent on qualifying for the final and wished them good luck.
According to the expert, the meeting was very interesting and intense. Despite conceding two goals in the first half, Sogdiana returned to the field in spirit and managed to equalize. "We knew the main strengths of the opponent well. They are dangerous in set pieces and long passes. During the break, we told my players not to drop their hands, waited for our situation, and believed that we would score," he said.
He also noted that his players gave their all in extra time, but the young player from "Bukhara" scored a goal from afar with a very beautiful and accurate shot. "Today I have no objections to my team. We showed character, we played a quality game on the field. The match, characteristic of the cup semi-final, took place. "We received a psychological shock, but we won't stop there," added Boshkovich.
At the same time, he said that "Bukhara" opened the scoring twice in the first half, which had a certain impact on the plans. "We were ready for any scenario of the opponent. They played on their home fields, in front of their fans, and this gave them an advantage. Honestly, I expected a penalty shootout, but a long-range shot turned into a goal and put an end to it," the coach said.
When asked about Doriyev's failure in this match, Boshkovich responded: "If we count the goals and assists together, he's currently in first place. It's impossible to act the same way in every game. The opponents also attack him. I'm far from saying we lost because Doriyev didn't score. Anything can happen in football. The main thing is that the whole team gave it their all on the field. There's no need to regret it, because we played well. We can sleep peacefully today."
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