Abbasov: Azerbaijan were not clinical enough in attack

Azerbaijan head coach Ayxan Abbasov said his team struggled to finish attacks after its 1-0 away win over Liechtenstein in UEFA Nations League D League.

Abbasov said the team had tried to score early, press the opposition and win the ball back quickly after losing it. The players had followed the game plan almost completely, he said, adding that Liechtenstein had managed just one shot on goal near the end of the match. The coach said the players’ haste had hindered their finishing: “This time we were not clinical enough in attack; the problem was finishing.”

Abbasov recalled that Azerbaijan had missed an opportunity to win away against Lithuania and had lost to Malta. He said the team’s target was to finish first in the group and earn promotion to League C. New players are also expected to get an opportunity in the upcoming friendly against Andorra.

Speaking about substitutions, Abbasov said the attacks began after Rufat Abdullazade came on, while Khayal and Tellur also entered later in the match. Rufat Abbasov and Toral Bayramov were tired, but Toral was kept on longer because of his shooting ability, he said.

Abbasov said he did not consider the yellow card shown to Emil Balayev in the 90th minute justified. He added that it was unreasonable to expect the goalkeeper to restart play quickly in the 90+6th minute.

Context

Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein drew 0-0 in their first match in Baku on October 1.