Kasimov admits Ulsan were the better side
Mirdjalal Kasimov admitted his Bunyodkor side had no answer for Ulsan Hyundai after they fell to a 2-0 loss in Wednesday's AFC Champions League semi-final second leg.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
The result, coupled with last week's 3-1 win, saw Ulsan progress to the final of the competition for the first time in their history.
Kim Shin-wook broke the deadlock on the night in the 53rd minute when he fired home from close range, before Lee Keun-ho delivered the final nail in the coffin 16 minutes from time, and Kasimov admits the K-League outfit were just that much better than his charges.
"First of all, congratulations to Ulsan for their win," he graciously said on the AFC's official website.
"We were simply faced with a very difficult match in the semi-finals and in football, there are always winners and losers and unfortunately for us, Ulsan were just too strong."
Bunyodkor did have their fair share of chances in the match, with striker Shavkat Salomov twice coming close to scoring in the opening 20 minutes, only to be denied by Korea Republic international Kim Young-kwang.
Kasimov conceded the difference in clinicality played a huge part in their defeat, and wished Ulsan all the best in the final against Al Ahli.
"In the first half, we had some opportunities to score but we failed to take these chances," he added. "That caused us to lose the game.
"On the other hand, Ulsan didn't miss the chances they created. Ulsan played very well and I hope they can go on to achieve the right result in the final."
Bunyodkor have won the Uzbek Professional Football League in the last four years but have never made it past the semi-finals of the Champions League.