The central defender of FC Dynamo Kyiv Kristian Bilovar shared his impressions with Football Hub after the away victory over Polissya Zhytomyr (2:1) in the 19th round of the Ukrainian Premier League.
- Kristian, this was probably the most difficult match for your team in the second half of the season after the championship resumed because in the first half there was a lot of pressure near your goal and the opponent created significantly more chances, to be honest. But once again your team managed to start the second half quickly and effectively. I assume the coaching staff is emphasizing this now?
- Of course, it was an interesting game that was difficult for both teams. Polissya have quite qualified players, just like we do, and that’s why the intensity was so high. I wouldn’t say that we specifically focus on the second half. Some players were playing in a match of this level for the first time and made some mistakes. The coaching staff made adjustments during halftime and that’s why the second half was somewhat easier for us.
- A question about Matvii Ponomarenko. If we were to give him a nickname, “Tank” would probably suit him. His statistics are incredible right now and he simply pushes through defenders. Is it just as difficult to play against him in training as it is for opponents in matches?
- Well, I wouldn’t say it’s very difficult for us in training, maybe because he feels a bit sorry for us (smiles). But first of all he’s a very hardworking guy. He works a lot during training and I would wish everyone to have his psychological mindset. If something doesn’t work out for him he doesn’t pay attention to it. He might miss one chance, even two chances, and then suddenly - bang, bang - two goals, and you can’t say a word to him.
- Today there was huge intensity, many emotions and a lot of pushing and shoving. In the first half you were very upset after one tackle. During halftime did you review that moment when you spoke with the referee and he was checking VAR for a possible red card? And then there was another confrontation with Emerllahu as you were leaving the field…
- It’s just emotions. Of course, when the game is close, emotions run high. When we won the first match 4:1 they didn’t complain about anything and showed no emotions. Now they are talking about whether it was a red card or not. If the referee had shown a red card, maybe we would have beaten them even with ten men. I don’t know how it would have turned out - maybe they would have won. The referee is just a human being like all of us. They made mistakes and conceded two goals, we made a mistake and conceded one. The referee can also make mistakes. Maybe there was no red card as they claim. I didn’t see the moment myself.
