"The first half started very poorly for us. We conceded a goal," said Ilham Yadullayev, head coach of the Azerbaijan U17 national football team.
Idman.biz reports that speaking about the Development Cup third-place match against Uzbekistan in Minsk, Belarus, Yadullayev continued: "After that, we managed to find our game and scored the equalizer. But once again, I’ll repeat, the players' energy – their resources – were depleted. We played four games in six days, and by the end, it was clear that the players were tired. However, they fought hard. It ended this way, and I congratulate the opponent. At the end of the first half, Elbrus Kərimov was hit in the face by the ball, and he lost consciousness. He’s fine now. The health of our players is the priority. We have no regrets about replacing him. The second goalkeeper didn’t play badly either. Last year’s results were not successful; they weren’t good. We also needed to see what we had accomplished in a year. This is a development tournament, and we are testing new players. We have qualification matches in March, and we are preparing for them, hoping everything will be fine."
The Azerbaijani team lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan.
Idman.biz
