This is our first defeat since I joined the club. If we exclude the game we lost to Gabala in the Azerbaijan Cup, our team performed well overall." These words were said to Sport24.az by Elgiz Keremli, the head coach of I League representative Shafa.
The young specialist commented on his team's defeat to Mingachevir the previous day:
"We had many scoring opportunities in this game to equalize the score. The opponent also created enough dangerous attacks and scoring chances. Towards the end of the game, we rushed forward more to equalize the score. But at that moment, we conceded the third goal. In order to increase the attacking potential, we replaced one defender with a striker and sent the other forward. Unfortunately, we left gaps in defense when we rushed forward and conceded goals again. Mingachevir took maximum advantage of these chances. I congratulate them, they deserved the victory. No, the players were not complacent. They made maximum effort to win. It's just that the opponent performed better than us. Nevertheless, there is no discouragement in the team. Because everyone is aware that we are at the top of the standings with an 8-point difference. We will draw conclusions from this defeat and continue the fight for the championship, preserving our leadership."
It should be noted that the Mingachevir - Shafa match ended with a score of 5:2.