The head coach of Dynamo Kyiv U19 Ihor Kostyuk summed up the away match against Zorya Luhansk which ended in a 0:0 draw:
- First of all we were disappointed with our finishing and the speed of ball movement – it was too slow. In the first half we should have scored one or two goals; we had clear chances but didn’t take them. In the second half, as I said, the ball moved too slowly. We didn’t create enough opportunities to score and even when we did we couldn’t convert them.
- This match came after the international break. Often games after such pauses are difficult. Was that the case this time?
- Yes, that also had an effect. But we couldn’t reschedule the match because on October 22 we play our UEFA Youth League game against Brommapojkarna so we had to play today. Naturally the players returning from national teams were tired from travel and lacked freshness. We also didn’t have enough substitutions to strengthen and refresh the game.
- How did the team spend the break?
- We trained and prepared. I told the boys that those who stayed behind had to take full responsibility for this match. Those who are not regular starters needed to prove they can compete for a place in the starting lineup. But as we can see we dropped two points unnecessarily. I’ve said before that we’re building a new team – not all the players yet fully understand our requirements. For now the quality of our play doesn’t allow us to show the kind of football we want. Some players are still not up to the required individual level.
- You mentioned poor finishing. Could we also say that the team was unlucky? The ball hit the crossbar and there were a few other good chances…
- It’s not about luck. I told the players: if you don’t have maximum motivation, energy and concentration, the ball won’t go into the net – not even into an empty one. This time a lack of focus cost us our goals.
- The UEFA Youth League match against Brommapojkarna is coming very soon. What do you think about the opponent?
- As I said we couldn’t move this league match so the players will not be as fresh, and we’ll already travel to Poland the day after tomorrow for the Youth League game. Of course we’re analyzing our opponent – they’re a very solid, organized and structured team. Their squad mostly consists of 2007-born players who already play for the senior team. Moreover the Swedes have one of the largest academies in Europe – over 260 teams – so they have a huge pool of talent to choose from. They’re the champions of Sweden and we’re analyzing and preparing for them. It’ll be an interesting match but, as always, everything will depend only on us.
