The head coach of the Turkmen FC Altyn Asyr Yazguly Hojageldiyev at a post-match press conference commented on the reasons for the defeat from the Vietnamese Hanoi FC - 4:5 after two matches in the inter-zonal semi-final of the 2019 AFC Cup. The first game in the capital of Vietnam ended in a victory for the home team - 3:2. In the second leg match, which took place in Ashgabat at the Kopetdag Stadium, a draw was recorded - 2:2.

– Yazguly, everyone is interested in the question, why did Altyn Asyr fail to get to the next stage?

– We can say that there was not enough luck. There are no complaints against the guys, they did everything they could. But, as everyone saw, nothing happened.

– All Turkmenistan was expecting a victory from FC Altyn Asyr. How guilty do you feel as a result?

– When a team loses, the coach is always to blame. But the coach is not a magician. I always want to win. But somewhere it turns out, but somewhere it doesn’t. Therefore, we will prepare for the next AFC Cup season.

–  It was clear that during the match you were unhappy with the actions of some players.

– The episodes were moments. But in general, refereeing in the second game left much to be desired. It is simply incomprehensible when such petty situations... Players of the opposing team from the first minutes of the game pulled time in different ways - lay on the field, 3 minutes were spent on substitutions, despite the fact that only 30 seconds relied on a substitution. And the judge added only 3 minutes of compensated time. Although, he is a middle-aged judge! It feels like we're bothering someone. In the second game already. Get at least the first penalty today! The referee himself sees the violation, pauses and looks at the assistant referee! As if he himself did not see? The same thing at the end of the match: it should be a corner, and the judge gives a kick “from the gate”, while he himself is in the center of the field. How can this be? I don’t know, can the Football Federation of Turkmenistan pay attention to this? This is already so in the second game. In the first game they got a penalty in the last minute, although everything was clean there, there was no violation.

–  What do you think, the score on the game?

– Since the game is over, then yes. Hanoi FC is not a weak opponent. But the guys fought, did everything they could.

– Hanoi FC deservedly reached the next round?

– Since the team went further, it means she deserved it. In 2018, we were ine the AFC Cup final. What is not deservedly reached? Once out, then they deserve it.

– The head coach of Hanoi FC said that FC Altyn Asyr disrespectfully opposed his opponent, and therefore could not win in the second leg game.

– I don't know where he got it from. We respect all teams. The mood of the team was fighting. He simply probably did not believe in the victory of his team. Therefore, probably he said so.