Idman.biz
"The matches of the 1/4 final stage of the Azerbaijan Cup were quite interesting and took place in an intense competitive environment."
These words were said by Aslan Karimov, the head of the Coaching Education Department of AFFA.
According to him, no team's clear advantage was felt in the 1/4 final matches: "It can be said that the fight was at an equal level. The matches "Qarabağ" - "Shamakhi" and "Gabala" - "Sabah" were more tense and dramatic. In the pairs "Sumgayit" - "Zira" and "Kapaz" - "Turan Tovuz", the winners won relatively easily. For example, the 2:0 lead that the Tovuz club gained in the first match allowed them to play more comfortably in the return match," he told AZERTAC.
The former football player of the Azerbaijani national team said that the absence of some teams in the semi-finals was unexpected to some extent:
"At least I would like to see "Neftchi" in this stage. But unfortunately, the team could not advance to this round. Among other teams, both "Shamakhi" and "Kapaz" fought hard to reach the 1/4 finals. They deserved it."
The expert associated Gabala's defeat in the penalty shootout in its own field with certain factors:
"Teams like Gabala have tournament experience, and this can turn into their advantage in certain cases. But this time, the opponent was "Sabah", one of the leaders of the championship. Therefore, the result cannot be considered a big surprise. "Gabala" is a young and promising team, with both local players and legionnaires in the squad. They fought well against a strong opponent and managed to bring the match to a penalty shootout. Defeat in the penalty shootout is to some extent due to the team's psychological state and lack of experience. When looking at Gabala's penalty statistics in recent matches, you can see interesting points. In the domestic championship, the team has failed to take advantage of penalties several times. Moreover, these cases occurred more often in crucial matches. In such moments, the players feel a great responsibility on themselves and the excitement increases. This leads to mistakes."
The veteran football player emphasized that the semi-final stage also promises an interesting fight:
"The match "Qarabağ" - "Sabah" can be assessed as an early final to some extent. Both teams have enough potential to win the cup. But we should not forget about "Turan Tovuz" and "Zira" either. Cup games are different from championship matches and all kinds of surprises are possible here. In my opinion, each of the four teams that have advanced to the semi-finals has a chance to win the cup. In this stage, the physical condition of the teams, fatigue, the number of games they have played, the level of motivation and even small details can seriously affect the result."
