For the second successive match, Uzbekistan had to dig deep before getting the result as they fell behind twice to Kyrgyz Republic on Tuesday but showed grit to walk away with a 3-2 win from the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium.

Resilience was something Uzbekistan – seeking to qualify for an inaugural appearance at the FIFA World Cup – had also needed in last week’s 1-0 win over DPR Korea and Katanec was pleased to see his players’ determination and resolve but admitted his team need to be defensively solid.

“It is not good for us to concede such “surprise” goals, such goals are a gift to the opposing team. Our lack of concentration was the main problem. Any team can punish us if we are not careful.

“But we were able to respond immediately. Especially (Eldor) Shomurodov, with his goal responded, very quickly. I think we deserved the victory. We recorded a maximum result in the first two matches and we are looking forward to the next matches.”

Joel Kojo put Kyrgyz Republic ahead in the 15th minute but the lead only lasted two minutes with Shomurodov equalising before the two sides traded goals again through Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov and Khusniddin Alikulov respectively.

Oston Uronov produced a moment of quality in the second half to give Uzbekistan the win and the drop-off in the second period after a high-energy first half is what Kyrgyz Republic head coach Maksim Lisitsyn is keen to improve on ahead of matches against Qatar and DPR Korea in October.

“It’s difficult to play in these games,” said Lisitsyn. “We prepared well and had hope but unfortunately, it was not possible. We lacked experience, couldn’t control our emotions and the game went against us.

“The changes we made to the team caused a lot of trouble for the opponents. I think we surprised them but at the same time, we also gave the opponents a lot of chances.

“We will learn from this and this is a great experience for the players, I’m sure we will be stronger next time.”