Timur Khairullin: «We had a good start and some good chances»
25.10.2025
Neftekhimik defenseman Timur Khairullin speaks with the media after a following 1–2 loss against Salavat Yulaev.
– We had a good start and some good chances. It is good that we scored first, but then we took the penalty and the guest team made it 1–1. You know, things got a bit chaotic at the end of the first period. We played well in the second period, but conceded a goal. In the third, it was already hard to catch up. The opponent was playing well defensively. We tried to open it up, but somewhere along the line, we lacked the tenacity, the right rebound, or the right shot to score and tie the game up.The penalties also hampered us a bit. We took plenty unnecessary penalties. Our penalties were probably the key moment of the game. Overall, we played well, but every time we started to seize the initiative, shoot, attack, these ridiculous penalties ruined everything and came back to haunt us. I think we lacked focus on the game. Maybe the fatigue from the last game played a role, although we seemed to be feeling good and skating well.
I would not say it was a lack of emotion. Yes, we tried our best in the last game, but we need to go into every game with a winning mindset. Every game is a new story, and every victory is crucial for us to make playoffs in the future.
