Sandro Perkovic: "There is still a chance - we will go to Budapest for a surprise"

FC Noah lost 1–2 to Hungary's Ferencváros in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, held in Abovyan. Despite the defeat, head coach of the Armenian club, Sandro Perkovic, expressed satisfaction with his team's performance and insisted the fight for qualification is not over.

Sandro Perkovic's post-match press conference

— Congratulations to Ferencváros on the win, — Perkovic began. — I also want to thank our fans for their support. And I want to congratulate our players — I think they played at a good level. There were moments where we were unlucky or could have made better decisions, but overall, I’m satisfied.

The Croatian coach emphasized that his team didn’t let the opponent dominate:

— This isn’t a video game where you can control everything. We played a solid match. Ferencváros couldn’t impose their game on us. Their dangerous moments came from our own mistakes — that’s football. We’re still in the tie and will try to surprise them in the second leg.

He also noted the tough weather conditions:

— The wind was strong, it was hard to adapt, but we gave our best. We’re proud to play in the Champions League and will give everything in the return match to go through.

Perkovic addressed Noah’s squad issues. Virgile Pinson, Artur Koneglian, Martin Gambos and Bilal Fofana did not play:

— Pinson is a key player but has a minor injury. He won’t be available for the second leg either. The others are not registered for this round.

He paid special attention to Ferencváros’s set-piece strength:

— We were aware of their danger from set-pieces. Unfortunately, we gave away too many fouls in our own half, and with strong wind that’s even more dangerous. At this level, even small mistakes are punished.

Perkovic explained the late substitutions and tactical changes:

— With Ambartsumyan coming in, the system stayed the same — he took the right winger position like Pereira. Only after their red card did we switch to two strikers. Grgic and Ferreira worked very hard, but both were on yellow cards, so we chose to protect them.

On potential attacking reinforcements, Perkovic was calm:

— The transfer window is open for another month and a half. No rush. As for Gregoriou and Ayash — I’m satisfied with them. Many judge strikers by goals, but they do a lot of important work for the team. I’m sure they’ll score. What matters is the team scores.

— I read somewhere that our chances to advance are 20%, and Ferencváros have 80%. I respect the opponent, they’re strong, but I believe it’s 50–50. That’s the mindset we’ll take to Budapest.

Perkovic concluded by praising Gora Manvelyan, who came on as a substitute:

— Gora is a great player. Even when he comes off the bench, he always contributes. I admire him — he has a bright future. He’s still young, and there’s much ahead. We have many quality players, but not all can start.

The second leg will take place on July 30 in Budapest.