"The match held in Khankendi was written in golden letters in my life."
Gazanfar Abbasov, the head coach of the Central Army Sports Club (MOIK), said these words in his statement to AZERTAC, while talking about the anniversary of the game held in Khankendi with Qarabag in the 1/8 final stage of the Azerbaijan Cup in 2023, Idman.biz reports.
The coach, who said that he stepped foot in Khankendi for the first time last year, said he was happy: "It was an incredible feeling to step foot in Khankendi and Shusha for the first time. We went to Shusha a day before the meeting. We smelled those lands. As the head coach, taking my team there and playing against a team like Qarabag gave us extra motivation. The joy on the faces of my players and assistants is still in front of my eyes. We would like to thank President Ilham Aliyev and our strong Army for giving us this moment. We are stepping on those lands now due to the blood of our martyrs who died for the motherland. May God have mercy on them and give good health to our veterans."
The expert reminded that in that game his players had a worthy fight against a strong team like Qarabag: Qarabag represents Azerbaijan at a high level in Europe. Thanks to the perseverance of my players, the opposing team could not break our defense in 90 minutes. It took a lot of strength to play until the end against such a team. My team did it. I will never forget that atmosphere, the atmosphere on the square."
The ball scored by Nariman Akhundzade in the 5th minute of added time in the main part of the match gave the Aghdam representative a minimal victory. The young striker, who distinguished himself in the first football match in the liberated territories after 30 years, was the author of the historic goal.
Idman.biz
