Kairat Almaty head coach Rafael Urazbakhtin took full responsibility for his team's heavy defeat to Tobol Kostanay in the 26th round of the Kazakhstan Premier League. The hosts lost 1-4 at home and failed to reclaim first place in the championship, infohub.kz reports.

At the post-match press conference, the Kairat boss admitted the game went badly for his players.

"There's not much to comment on. We got a good slap in the face and really messed up today," Urazbakhtin said.

The coach said he had considered changing the starting lineup before the game but ultimately decided not to deviate from the combination that had brought results in previous matches.

"I take full blame for the defeat. My gut told me to make some changes to the lineup, but I gave in to the stereotype that you don't change a winning team. So it's entirely my fault we lost."

Before facing Tobol, Kairat had thrashed Zhenis 3-0 and moved into first place in the KPL. However, on the eve of the Almaty side's match, Ordabasy beat Astana 1-0 and regained the lead in the title race.

Despite the painful loss, Urazbakhtin stressed that the team has no intention of giving up the fight for the championship.

"What matters is not how you take a hit, but how you keep fighting after it. I think this defeat will make us stronger in any case. I can promise that we will continue to fight and will battle to the end."

According to the coach, he had already discussed what happened with the players after the final whistle.

"We talked with the guys. The defeat is painful, but we have to accept it. Today we allowed the opponent too much. That's the result."

Recall that in the first half, Uroš Milovanović opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 18th minute. Mark Gual equalized in the 40th, but before the break Milovanović scored his second. In the second half, Vitaliy Lisakovich and Luís Guerra made it 4-1 in favor of Tobol.

After the defeat, Kairat remains on 57 points and sits in second place. Leaders Ordabasy have 58 points. With four rounds left in the championship, the teams are separated by one point.

Kairat's next KPL match will be away against Astana on September 17. On the same day, Ordabasy will play away at Atyrau.