Neftchi defender Yuri Matias shared his thoughts with Teleqraf after his team's 1-1 draw against Araz-Nakhchivan in Round 28 of the Azerbaijan Premier League.
The Brazilian center-back assessed his team’s performance in both the league and the national cup.
- Why are your matches against Araz-Nakhchivan always so tense? Why can't you seem to beat them?
* It was a tough game. Every match against Araz-Nakhchivan turns out this way. For some reason, we can't display our best football against them. This time, things didn’t go as planned again. The second half became even more difficult. After they equalized, we struggled, and to be honest, we stopped playing real football. We made things harder for ourselves.
- Did Neftchi earn one point or lose two?
- Of course, we lost two points. We were playing at home and had to win. We absolutely needed to secure three points in front of our fans, but we failed.
- What caused the tension on the pitch at the end of the second half?
- I didn’t see it.
- Even the international break didn’t seem to help Neftchi improve…
- Like everyone else, we expected to win. But football isn’t about wishes - you have to play and win.
- Do you believe you can advance in the cup with this kind of performance?
- Absolutely. It’s the most crucial match for us. The easiest way to qualify for European competitions is through the cup. But when you play for Neftçi, every match is a final. You're not just representing the club - you’re representing a lot of people. Playing here means playing for the fans.
- If you beat Sabah, you'll face Araz-Nakhchivan or Qarabag in the final. But Neftchi hasn’t defeated either team this season…
- We know the strength of our opponents. We are preparing for every challenge. The cup is extremely important for us, and we understand our responsibility. That’s why we don’t choose opponents. We’ll give it our all until the end.
- Do you have a message for the fans?
- I want to tell our fans that we will fight until the last moment. We will do everything to bring Neftçi to the place it deserves. I appreciate our supporters for never leaving us alone, whether in good or bad times. They deserve to see us succeed, and I believe we will bring them joy.
Idman.biz
