Our head coach Valdas Dambrauskas shared his thoughts after the second leg of the Bizon Azerbaijan Cup quarter-final against Gabala (3:3, pens 4:2):
“First of all, I would like to congratulate both teams. Especially I want to congratulate the Gabala team for the character and spirit they showed.
At the same time, I would also like to congratulate my own team for reaching the next stage. Sometimes life and football are very strange. Within one week we experienced some very interesting events: a 3:3 comeback against Qarabag, and today another comeback in the match against Gabala.
When the opponent is down to ten men and you are leading 2:0, and then the whole game changes within just nine minutes — of course this is something we need to sit down, talk about and analyse. We are moving on a very thin line. In a way, we were on the edge of a cliff, and of course we cannot be proud of that.
But this is a cup competition and such things happen in every country. When you look at cup tournaments, you always see unusual and dramatic stories. I think this match was very interesting for the fans, especially for neutral football lovers.
The most important thing is that we advanced to the next round. Now we will return to Baku and prepare for the next match against Gabala on Tuesday. Honestly, it feels like lately I have been watching and analysing only Gabala games. Because within one month we face them three or four times — and now it will already be the fourth time.
It’s not easy. But what can we do — it is difficult for us just as it is for them. We continue our journey.
