Dynamo Kyiv forward Matviy Ponomarenko commented on the victory over Kudrivka (3:2) in the Round 30 match of the Ukrainian Premier League and on winning the title of the league’s top scorer.
— Matviy, you are the top scorer of the UPL 2025/2026 season. What are you feeling right now?
— Wonderful emotions. I’m moving forward toward new achievements.
— Were you thinking about the top scorer race on the pitch today?
— Of course. After the match against Polissia, I said that I had set this goal for myself. So I went out onto the pitch with the desire to score and become the top scorer.
— Today all of Ukraine, and Kyiv in particular, went through a very difficult night. How hard was it to gather your thoughts and prepare for the match under such circumstances?
— Honestly, it was very difficult. I did not sleep until five in the morning because of the shelling. I want to thank our Defenders who protect Ukraine so that we can live in peace. A huge thank you to them for making it possible for us to play today.
— In the first half team opened the scoring quickly but then conceded twice. What went wrong at that moment?
— It’s hard to say. The opponent had two chances and scored two goals. During halftime, we had a talk and were given a bit of a wake-up call. We came out for the second half in a completely different mood. It was the final match of the season, and we could not lose at home. We understood that the fans came to watch their favorite team, so we could not let them down. We pulled ourselves together and made the comeback, so now we go on vacation in a good mood.
— Dynamo remained in the fight for medals before the final round of the UPL. Were you informed during the match about the results of LNZ and Polissia?
— We were not following that because second or third place is not a reason for celebration for us. We focus only on gold medals.
— How would you assess the 2025/2026 season for yourself and for the team overall?
— It was a wonderful season for me personally because I established myself in Dynamo’s first team. I am also very happy that I received a call-up to the Ukrainian national team. Unfortunately, we finished fourth in the league and did not show ourselves well in European competitions. It is good that we won the Ukrainian Cup, which gives us a chance to qualify for the Europa League. We will do everything possible to get there and make our fans happy.
