Dynamo head coach Ihor Kostiuk answered questions from the media after the Matchday 6 game of the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage against Noah (2:0).
- There was an unpleasant moment at the start of the match: Oleksandr Tymchyk left the field due to injury. Do you know how serious it is?
- We can’t carry out full diagnostics in such a short time yet. We’ll find out what happened. But I’ve already said that we have worthy players on the bench, and Oleksandr Karavaiev who came on as a substitute played in that position the way he knows how, fulfilled all the instructions we gave him. We achieved the result despite the injury in the opening minutes.
- After the episode when Karavaiev failed to convert his chance you threw your cap onto the pitch. What emotions were you feeling at that moment?
- Our players work hard and create chances, and of course I want them to convert every opportunity. These are emotions and I always tell the players that it’s impossible to play football without emotions. I’m emotional myself and I want the players to be emotional too - giving everything, enjoying what they do and converting such chances.
- When will the team return from vacation and where and when will the winter training camp take place?
- Starting today players go on vacation. They’ll be given individual tasks to complete before returning. We’ll regroup on January 12 for medical examinations. We’ll work in Kyiv for two days and on January 15 we’ll fly to Turkey for the training camp.
- It seemed that Dynamo completely outran opponents and this kind of intense football is what you want to see from the team. What is the ideal Dynamo for you?
- This is not yet the football we aspire to but I’m glad players are listening. They talk among themselves and say that this football really brings results. These aren’t my words - it’s often said that the game is forgotten but the result remains. Today it was important for us to go on vacation in a good mood, to rest well and prepare emotionally for the continuation of the season.
- There were matches where it seemed Dynamo lacked energy to finish strongly. Today on the contrary the team was fully focused for all 90 minutes. How did you manage to achieve this in such a short time?
- Thanks to players. We slightly changed the training process. And we also have quality players on the bench who maintain this intensity throughout the 90 minutes.
- Matvii Ponomarenko seemed to be less involved in the first half but in the second half he came out and immediately scored. What did you say to him at halftime?
- And when exactly was Matvii “out of the game” in the first half?
- There were many individual mistakes...
- There wasn’t enough synchronization between players so he lost the ball at times but he actually had a fairly good first half. He did a lot of defensive work and drew the opposition defenders onto himself. So I wouldn’t say he played poorly in the first half.
- During the winter break will you be looking to strengthen the squad from abroad or within Ukraine? Or are you satisfied with the current squad?
- Of course this process never stops. We’re always actively searching to strengthen the squad we have, to ensure competition and have equally strong players in every position. Naturally this also gives players we already have more hunger for progress, training, improvement and the desire to play in the starting lineup.
