Rafael Urazbakhtin, head coach of Almaty football club Kairat, commented on his team's away loss to Cyprus's Omonia in a UEFA Champions League match, reports infohub.kz.
"We can say we lost the first half not in our favor, but there is still the second half. So at home we will try to show better quality football and try to achieve a positive result. We count on our home ground and our fans to support us," Urazbakhtin said at a press conference, video of which was published by the club's press service.
The hosts secured a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a 13th-minute goal by Cypriot midfielder Panayotis Andreou. The visitors played most of the match with a numerical advantage, as Omonia's Hungarian defender Loic Nego received a straight red card in the 33rd minute.
The return leg between the teams will take place on July 29 at the Central Stadium in Almaty. The winner over two legs in the third qualifying round of the Champions League will face Bulgaria's Levski or Romania's Universitatea. The loser will drop into the equivalent stage of the Europa League, where they will face Sweden's Mjallby or Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps.