Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Adelaide: Australia international David Carney has been left out the Bunyodkor squad for Wednesday’s AFC Champions League quarter-final first leg against Adelaide United.
Carney joined Bunyodkor in February from Spanish Segunda Division club Alcorcon and made five appearances as the Uzbekistan champions qualified for the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2009 following back-to-back exits in the Round of 16.
But Carney, who was part of the Australia squad at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup as well as for the recent FIFA World Cup qualifier against Jordan, did not travel with the squad to Adelaide.
“David Carney has not travelled with the team to Adelaide. At the start of the season we had hoped he would help us in the league and the AFC Champions League, but at this moment I have better players than David Carney,” said Bunyodkor coach Mirdjalal Kasimov.
“He is a foreign player and he must be better than my players, but he has not played well this season so he has stayed in Tashkent.”
Bunyodkor are seeking to end a run of negative results against Adelaide, although Kasimov would welcome a repeat of the goalless draw between the two sides during the Group Stage ahead of the second leg in Tashkent at the start of October.
With Adelaide having beaten Bunyodkor over two legs in the 2008 semi-finals, the pair were re-united this time around and the A-League side posted a 2-1 win in Tashkent although this fixture arrived prior to the start of the Uzbek League season.
Now with Bunyodkor firmly in the middle of their domestic season, with the Swallows currently a point clear of Pakhtakor at the top of the table, and Adelaide not beginning their A-League campaign until after the second leg, Kasimov is hopeful of a reversal of fortunes.
“It will be a very interesting game. The situation is the same when we played the first game in the Group Stage, now Adelaide are at the start of the season although I know they have played friendly games,” said Uzbekistan national team coach Kasimov.
“It is different from the Group Stage, we cannot make any mistakes. We will concentrate on this game to get a result.
“I do not know if team is in a better situation than when we last played in Adelaide but we are at a good level now. Last time we came to take some points and it is the same this time.
“We have a good chance to qualify for the next stage, maybe a better chance than Adelaide United. It will be enough for us if we earn a draw in the first leg, although we have to play two games and the result will only be decided after the second game.”
And while Bunyodkor would happily walk away from Hindmarsh Stadium with a draw to take back to Tashkent, veteran midfielder Victor Karpenko insists the Uzbekistan champions will not simply defend for 90 minutes.
“It is the idea of our team to attack and control the ball,” he said. “We will try and do this and also score a goal.”