The head coach of Dynamo’s U19 team Ihor Kostyuk shared his impressions of the rescheduled Matchday 16 fixture of the U19 National League in which the “White-Blues” drew 2:2 at home against Veres Rivne:
- In today’s game our finishing was not very good. We created many chances but failed to convert them. We were leading 2:0, brought on fresh players who were supposed to strengthen the defense, add energy, refresh the game and cover the zones - but unfortunately it didn’t work. At the end of the match our center-backs made mistakes - they are young players, born in 2008, who only joined from the academy this year. They are still learning and do not always position themselves correctly. There were unnecessary errors in both conceded goals. When stoppage time had already expired, we committed an unnecessary foul that led to a set piece after which we conceded - and that affected the final result.
- Why was this match rescheduled? To avoid playing in mid-December?
- Our last game is on 10 December, away in Scotland. The logistics are lengthy and if we returned we would have had to play this match around 15 December. That’s already winter and our opponents would also have had to wait a long time.
We planned to move this game to spring, but it didn’t work out - I don’t know the reasons. We were told there were no grounds for a reschedule. I don’t understand why UPL didn’t meet us halfway considering we are the only team playing in the UEFA Youth League and representing the country internationally. I’m also curious what grounds Shakhtar had to move their matches when they traveled abroad for a tournament at the start of the season - they were also allowed to reschedule games last season. It all seems unclear. I believe moving this match to early spring would have caused no issues.
But nothing terrible - we played during the international break. Today we didn’t have three important players, including Hubenko, who are key for our team but were called up to the national squads. We planned replacements so that it wouldn’t affect our game. We had the advantage in both halves, controlled the ball. The opponent played primitive football - long balls - but it worked for them. That tactic also sometimes works and has a right to exist. We’ll fix our mistakes. We lacked a bit of concentration at the end.
- Both our goals came from penalties. Previously it was believed that the player who won the penalty shouldn’t take it. But today, in both cases, it was the opposite. How do boys decide who takes the penalty now?
- Those are just superstitions (smiles). If a player feels confident and believes he can score - why not? That’s what happened today - both players who won the penalties took and converted them.
- You already played against Veres in the first-round opener and won 1:0. Has anything changed in their game since then? Were they predictable?
- As I said they played primitive football through long balls. There was a lot of rough play and pushing but the referee interpreted the situations mostly in their favor. That led to set pieces and from those free kicks they delivered the ball into our box, creating moments. For most of the match that’s where the danger ended - nothing serious - but at the end we conceded twice due to mistakes. Again, our players are young, they only came from the Academy this year and started playing at this level. This will be an experience and a lesson for them - and for us as well. We’ll work on fixing the mistakes.
