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The head coach talked about his expectations for the second game against Partizani
31 aug 2023

Astana head coach Grigory Babayan spoke about his expectations from the match against Partizani.

- Of course, we are waiting for a very difficult match. We understand that we have a slight advantage, but at the same time tomorrow we want to play more organized football from the first minutes, add discipline and aggression. If we think only about how to keep the score of the first match, then nothing will work. The guys know about it and we have to go out with one thought: the score is 0:0, our main task is to reach the group stage. We have already talked about this with the guys, we will try to do everything to accomplish this task.

- Are you ready for the match to go into extra time or do you expect everything to be over within 90 minutes?
- We are ready for any scenario, but we hope that it will not come to this. If this happens, of course, we must be prepared.

- In the match with "Kairat" you played the second team. Was it planned specifically before the second leg?
- We had a large number of games in a row, there was a long flight, for these reasons, those who did not take part in the first match against Partizani played in Almaty. I won’t say that this is the second squad, just those who did not play in the first game came out. Absolutely all the guys are preparing for tomorrow's match.

- Will it be a failure for you if you don't pass Partizani?
- Of course, we want to win and will do everything for this. We do not think about defeat, the main task for us is to reach the group stage of the Conference League.

- In the first match against Partizani, did you manage to notice the weak points of the opposing team?
- We analyzed the first match well, we know both the pros and cons of the team. We understand that with this team in no case should we relax, we should not underestimate it. The team has high-quality performers, is well organized and I will say again that tomorrow we must play at all our 100 percent, in a balanced and disciplined manner. It is very important.

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

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