Noah’s Coach After the Match: “Congratulations to the Club on a Historic Champions League Win”

FC Noah head coach Sandro Perković shared his thoughts on the team's victory in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 first qualifying round against Montenegro’s Budućnost. The match took place on July 8 in Abovyan and ended 1–0 in favor of the Armenian side. This was Noah’s first-ever match in the Champions League.

Sandro Perković’s post-match press conference

— Congratulations to my players and the entire club on this historic first win in the Champions League. The opponent played with a deep and compact defense — it felt like they weren’t even trying to attack. It wasn’t easy to break through, but we found the moment and scored the winning goal.
Thanks to our fans for the support — starting with a win was very important.

The return leg in Podgorica will be a completely different game. Whoever prepares better will win and go through.

On the goal scorer Ulad Omar’s impact off the bench
— It’s always good when a substitute scores or changes the course of the match — the coach gets praised. Otherwise, he gets criticized. That’s football. We have many quality players, and it's hard to fit them all on the field. I chose to start with Manvelyan and bring Imran on in the second half to strengthen the attack. Ulad Omar came on and became the hero — scored the winner and improved our attacking play.
But I want to highlight everyone who played today — they all did a great job.

We’ll improve with every passing day.

On preparation for the second leg
— It’s too early to speak in detail about the return match. First, we need to rest and analyze everything calmly. There’s a whole week until the next game, and we’ll decide the final lineup after the last training session.

Yes, this was my first official game in charge. Before this, we had four friendlies. I’m happy with how stable my players were. But again — it’s tough to play against a team that sets up a two-layered defense. Apart from one or two half-chances, the opponent didn’t have any serious threats. We could’ve scored more, but I’m satisfied with the result.

On attacking work and Imran’s goal
— I agree, we should’ve taken more shots. We discussed that at halftime. Imran heard me and looked for chances to shoot in the second half. In the end, his long-range effort won us the game.
We still have a lot of work and analysis ahead. Hopefully, we’ll pose more of a threat in upcoming matches.

On goalkeepers and midfielder Yan Eteki
— Ognen Čančarević is currently our first-choice goalkeeper. But we have three more strong young keepers. Throughout the season, each of them will get a chance to show what they can do.

I’m also very pleased with Yan Eteki’s performance. He’s our defensive midfielder, but he also initiated attacks and gave us the tempo we needed. Thanks in part to him, Budućnost didn’t create many chances.

On the squad and the absence of Thorarinsson
— The squad list for the return leg can’t be changed, but in later stages, we’ll make adjustments.
As for Guðmundur Þórarinsson, he had a minor injury. He wasn’t fit to play today, so we decided not to include him in the first-round squad.

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