Islom Ismoilov reveals reasons for painful defeat against Al-Ittihad

In the central match of the 3rd round of the AFC Champions League Elite held in Fergana, Neftchi suffered a painful 1-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia's star-studded Al-Ittihad club. After the match, the head coach of the Fergana team, Islombek Ismoilov, participated in a press conference, where he provided detailed comments on the true nature of the match, the simple errors leading to the goals, and the team's personnel problems.

According to the coach, the Fergana side put in a high volume of work on the pitch and, tactically, was worthy of at least one point, having conceded almost nothing to their world-class opponent.

"We conceded goals from nothing": Coach lists factors for the defeat

Islom Ismoilov focused specifically on the free-kick in the 90th minute and other missed situations:

• A performance not deserving of defeat: "It was a very painful defeat. Our team did not deserve this. Our players did a great job, but the goal conceded in the final minutes deprived us of points. It should have been at least a draw";

• Punishment for simple mistakes: "Both goals conceded came from very simple situations. In the first goal, our defenders should have won the ball. At the end of the match, we brought a goal upon ourselves from almost nothing. The opponent itself was not able to move forward, but two moments of lost balance cost us dearly";

• Difficulty of the tight schedule: "We are going through a very difficult period right now. We played two of the toughest matches in three days — first the match against Pakhtakor, then immediately Al-Ittihad. But we will not stop; we will analyze our mistakes and continue to fight."

Why did counter-attacks falter? Al-Ittihad stars and Forss's condition

The coach gave open answers to journalists' questions regarding the sluggishness in launching quick counter-attacks and the performance of Marcus Forss:

• The opponent's high skill level: "The reason for the slight hesitation in transitioning to quick attacks is that the opponent consists of world-class stars. They have great experience, correctly closed spaces on the pitch, and organized strong pressing. Even so, we created many favorable opportunities in the first half and throughout the game";

• Injuries in attack and Forss: "Because Marusic and Perica were injured, we had no choice left — only Marcus Forss and our young striker who was not yet ready for such a level. Forss pressed in high volume and lost energy. On a 10-point scale, his performance can be rated at 7-8 points. Danilo Luis, who played against him, is also no ordinary player";

• "Neftchi" did not break: "It cannot be said that the opponent completely defeated us. They may have had ball possession, but the dominance was not obvious. Our boys proved in practice that they can compete on equal terms with any opponent."

Key points from Islom Ismoilov's press conference