What did Islam Ismailov say after the victory over Pakhtakor?
In the central match of the 25th round of the Super League, Fergana's «Neftchi» club achieved an important and comeback away victory over «Pakhtakor» with a score of 3:1. As a result, the Fergana team increased the gap with their closest pursuer to 5 points.
After the match, «Neftchi» head coach Islam Ismailov attended a press conference and gave detailed answers to questions regarding tactical changes, the psychological state of the players, and injuries.
«The boys showed character»: Caution in the first half and tactical turning point
The coach commented on his team's actions in the first half and the changes during the break as follows:
Result comes first: «In the first half, we tried to play more cautiously. The reason is that in such matches, the result always comes first. As Lobanovsky noted: the game is forgotten, the result remains in history. If we play attacking and concede a goal in defense, criticisms are natural;
Switching formations: We started the game with a 3-4-3 formation, but after conceding a penalty, we returned to the 4-3-3 tactic;
Planned reinforcement: Knowing that «Pakhtakor» usually becomes active after the 60th minute, in the second half we brought on Alisher Odilov and Abror Ismailov to strengthen the flanks. I think in the second half we left almost no chances for the opponent», — said the specialist.
Psychological pressure: «Playing while in 1st place carries a different burden»
Ismailov attributed the team's recent defensive errors to the players' psychology:
A team with something to lose: «When you are in 3rd place in the standings, you have nothing to lose, you only strive forward. But when you are in 1st place, you know that a single mistake can drop you down. More fear is appearing and therefore decisions are being made hastily;
We have no right to be complacent: Despite the 5-point gap, the championship has not been decided yet. There are 5 rounds ahead and we must take the field to win in all matches».
Injuries and the Rodri factor at Manchester City
When asked about the condition of the leaders ahead of the ACL match, the coach revealed serious problems:
Zoran Marusic's condition: «Many of our players are over 30 years old. Due to the very high pace of the game, hamstring strains were observed. Since a match against «Al-Ittihad» awaits us in two days, we need to recover them quickly;
Jokic's role: This is similar to the vacuum that arose in Manchester City after Rodri got injured. In modern football, the game is built around the defensive midfielder, and Jokic's absence had a big impact on us. Nevertheless, our remaining players are giving their maximum effort», — concluded Islam Ismailov.
Comments 0
…