- An incredibly difficult match, so many emotions, there was a lot of pressure. Especially in the first 25 minutes, we struggled a lot and we allowed them to attack. After that, we had two chances when Marin Tomasov ran one on one and Darbo had to score. But, in general, in the first half the opponent was better and deservedly took the lead.

In the second half, we managed to change the game, we talked to the guys at half-time, pointed out the mistakes and it is very important that we scored an early goal. It was the most difficult match and thank God that we were able to finish this game, we got the result we needed and this is a very important victory for the whole country. I would like to congratulate all Kazakhstani fans on reaching the group stage of the Conference League. It was probably our most important match this year and it's good that everything worked out, we achieved our goal.

- You have already said that it was a difficult match. Do you think luck was also on your side?

- I think that we definitely had about 3-4 chances. In the first half they hit the crossbar, there was also a one-on-one out from Darbo, the crossbar in the second half. Somewhere in some moments we were lucky, but it is worth noting that the opponent was also lucky. It's hard to judge here, I think that plus or minus in moments we were sharper.

- Based on the results of the first match, did your team underestimate the opponent?

- No, they did not. We prepared for this game very seriously, the guys understood that the opposing team would play completely differently at home, which we saw in the first half. But we should also note our guys, in the second half we came out completely differently, more charged. Of course, there was pressure, but I would like to note the team, thank the guys for what they did in the second half and solved this problem. This is a big deal. I want to congratulate the management and the whole club on reaching the group stage of European competitions.

The general partner of FC Astana is JSC NWF Samruk Kazyna

Partner of FC Astana - CF Fund for Support of the Tourism and Sports Industry