Is the championship being sacrificed for the Cup? Mirjalol Qosimov reveals the truth

In a dramatic match within the Uzbekistan Championship, AGMK hosted "Kokand-1912", a team fighting with all its might to survive in the league, and narrowly secured a 2:1 victory.

After the final whistle, the head coach of the Almalyk team, Mirjalol Qosimov, attended a press conference and openly criticized his players' performance, their misguided attempts to conserve energy, and their sluggishness on the pitch, even though the 3 points gained were crucial.

"Another dramatic game, once again with validol": An open admission from Qosimov

The AGMK coach recalled that complacency when his team was leading 1:0 could have cost them very dearly:

• Failing advantage: "The most important thing is that we got three points. But another dramatic game, another nervous moments, once again validol... If we had capitalized on our chances at 1:0, the score would have been different. We almost lost points," Qosimov said;

• Falling into the opponent's tactics: The specialist critically evaluated that instead of combinational and short passes, the team switched to long balls in the first half—which suited "Kokand"—and lost the battle for second balls;

• "You can't get a result without running": The coach emphasized that even when the opponent was left a man down, they lost the initiative and gave them opportunities through their own mistakes.

Cup semi-final and Super League: Will the approach change?

Answering a question about whether AGMK's advancement to the Uzbekistan Cup semi-finals might affect their championship matches, the coach gave a firm response:

• The mistake of conserving energy: "That's the worst part — thinking we'll save energy and stopping to put in enough effort on the pitch. That was clearly visible today in the second half. Someone slacked off, gave themselves too much freedom, and the score became 1:1," said the coach;

• There will be rotation, but no slackness: Qosimov stated that rotations will be made using the available squad, but attention to the championship matches will not decrease by a fraction;

• "You must play even for a single fan": Emphasizing that football is primarily for the spectators, Mirjalol Qosimov reminded that even if just a single fan comes to the stands, the team must give it their all.