Kamoliddin Tojiyev makes unexpected comments after dramatic defeat against "Neftchi"

In the central fixture of the 25th round of the Super League, Tashkent's "Pakhtakor" suffered a bitter 1:3 home defeat to their main title race rival, Fergana's "Neftchi" club. This defeat leaves the capital team 5 points behind the leader.

After the match, "Lions" head coach Kamoliddin Tojiyev attended a press conference and gave open answers regarding the team's unrecognizable performance in the second half, the controversial penalty, and injuries.

"We should have scored 3 goals in the first half": The coach's surprise

Tojiyev emphasized that the two halves of the match were sharply different from each other:

• Complete initiative in the first half: "We started the match very well and controlled the first half entirely. Capitalizing on the 3 hundred-percent chances created, we could have scored at least 3 goals;

• Unexpected collapse in the second half: Frankly, I don't know myself what happened in the second half. It looked like a completely different team stepped onto the pitch. I don't know if the players thought they had already "won" the match and became complacent. Tomorrow we will review everything and conduct a serious analysis," said the head coach.

Penalty controversy and Zaid Tahsin's serious condition

Important details regarding refereeing decisions and squad losses were mentioned at the press conference:

• Reaction to the penalty in the 89th minute: "I haven't re-watched the penalty awarded in our favor, but I reviewed the situation of the final penalty called against our goal. There wasn't much of a pull or push on the opponent there. I don't know how the referees will evaluate it;

• Player taken away by ambulance: I don't know what Zaid Tahsin's condition is yet. He was taken straight from the stadium in an ambulance, and the doctors haven't announced the exact diagnosis yet."}.

Title destiny: "The chance has not been lost yet"

Despite the 5-point gap in the standings, the "Pakhtakor" mentor emphasized that he has no intention of giving up:

• 5 rounds remaining: There are still 5 rounds left until the end of the season. In football, no one can predict 100% in advance who will beat whom;

• The fight continues: "Our chances may have decreased slightly, but they are not completely lost. We will fight for the championship until the end," Kamoliddin Tojiyev concluded.