Manuel Tulipa after the match against Celje: “The 0–2 scoreline was unfair, we did not deserve to lose”

Ararat-Armenia head coach Manuel Tulipa commented on his team’s defeat to Slovenian side Celje in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

After winning the home leg 2–1, the Armenian champions suffered a 0–2 defeat in Slovenia and lost the tie 2–3 on aggregate. Until the closing stages of the match, however, Tulipa’s side were still ahead on aggregate and had several good opportunities to score.

At the post-match press conference, Manuel Tulipa assessed his team’s performance, spoke about the refereeing, explained the substitution of Artur Serobyan and revealed what he told his players after the game.

Manuel Tulipa’s post-match press conference

— Before conceding the opening goal, Ararat-Armenia had been putting Celje under serious pressure for several minutes and created a number of scoring chances. What changed after that?

— This game showed just how cruel football can be. Everyone who watched the match could see that we were playing well before we conceded. We had chances and came very close to opening the scoring, but their goalkeeper made some excellent saves.

This often happens in football: when you fail to take your chances, the situation can change. In the end, we conceded two goals.

But the most important thing I want to say is that my players were phenomenal today. They were afraid of nothing and played with courage. The 0–2 scoreline does not reflect what happened on the pitch. In my opinion, the result was unfair. It would have been more logical for the tie to go into extra time.

— What did you make of Hugo Oliveira’s performance? It seemed that he was not at his best today.

— Perhaps it started with the fact that he received a yellow card after his very first foul. He had to do much more defensive work in this match, so he had a lot to deal with. Despite that, I rate his performance positively.

I would also like to say a few words about the refereeing. Their left-back committed two clear fouls, and in my opinion each of them deserved a yellow card, but the referee showed only one. And all of this happened while the score was still 0–0.

In any case, I want to congratulate Celje on the victory. They are a very good and well-organised team.

— Was the substitution of Artur Serobyan a tactical decision, or was he tired?

— It was a very difficult match for Serobyan. He was genuinely very tired because he had to help the team defensively much more than usual, and he had to do that in both halves.

Even so, whenever Artur received the ball, he was one of the most dangerous players on the pitch. The opposition often managed to stop him only by committing fouls.

At the moment when I decided to replace him, we needed to bring some fresh energy to the flanks. We continued to create dangerous moments even after Serobyan went off, but in the end things turned out the way they did.

— What can you say about Alexandros Malis’ performance? Would you agree that he was one of Ararat-Armenia’s leaders today and played an excellent match despite the two goals conceded?

— Malis was not the only one who had an excellent game. Several of our players may have produced some of their best performances today.

And that is exactly what makes me even more disappointed: we played so well, but in the end we lost. I believe we did not deserve this defeat.

— What did you tell the players after the match?

— I told them that I am proud to work with them because today they did exactly what I wanted from them. They showed that they went onto the pitch to win.

Normally, after losing a big match like this, a team needs a lot of time to recover emotionally. But I explained to the players that we need to recover as quickly as possible ahead of the match against Van.

We have to treat every match as an important stage in our development and as an opportunity to improve. I want the players who are currently part of our team to stay at Ararat-Armenia for as long as possible.

Following their elimination from the Champions League, Ararat-Armenia will continue their European campaign in UEFA Europa League qualifying.