The striker of FC Dynamo Kyiv Matvii Ponomarenko commented on the 2:1 victory over Polissya Zhytomyr in the 19th round of the Ukrainian Premier League.
— Incredible emotions because it was a very difficult game. Everyone prepared seriously for it so emotions now are amazing. You saw the tension at the end especially after the air raid alert. It disrupted the rhythm a little but it was a very important match for us and for the coaching staff. It’s great that we won. We move forward in a good mood. This is already our sixth victory in a row.
- You have scored in six consecutive matches and previously said you want to become the top scorer of the championship. You are now just one goal behind the leaders of the scoring race. Are you satisfied with your results?
- For now yes because I’m managing to score goals. I feel great. As I said I set this goal for myself and I’m gradually moving toward it. I’m only one goal away from leaders so I won’t stop. There are still many matches ahead where I need to catch up and overtake them. I’m very motivated to become the top scorer of the championship. So we keep moving forward. Thanks to the team for their support and belief in me. I try to repay them.
- First there was a disallowed goal, then a penalty was awarded. You also had a good chance when you couldn’t place the ball into the far corner with your left foot and then you created a goal almost out of nothing…
- That’s the life of a striker - sometimes you miss an obvious chance. But I wouldn’t say that moment was easy: it was hard to see the ball and it came after a deflection. So it wasn’t that simple to score.
But I analyzed everything, saw how defenders were playing and didn’t focus on the missed chance or get disappointed. I knew there would be more opportunities and that I needed to help the team score. It turned out that I scored twice and those goals became the winning ones. I’m very happy that I brought the team three points.
- In the episode with the first goal pass came from Korobov who recently celebrated his birthday. So was it a gift for him?
- Of course, maybe for him as well but I’d say it was for the whole team. He did very well today. I wouldn’t say he was at fault in the episode with the penalty - it was just a game situation so nobody will blame him. I think he really played well today. I told him to try making more low crosses because there were spaces in the opponent’s defense. He did a great job.
- Dynamo are now only one point behind Polissya who are in third place in the standings. There was a lot of tension and emotion today. Was it a six-point match?
- I think it definitely was a six-point match. It was very important for us. We prepared seriously because we knew Polissya are a good team - they won against LNZ in the previous round. They are a strong and ambitious side but we know what we want to achieve so we have to win matches like this.
