Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Oleksandr Pikhalonok shared his thoughts after the team’s hard-fought 2:1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk and progression to the Ukrainian Cup quarterfinal.
– How are you feeling after such an emotional game?
– I feel tired – we put in a lot of emotion and effort. It’s been two very tough matches in just three days. As for today’s game, the first half didn’t go well for us: Shakhtar had many chances and could have scored three or four goals to close the match. Fortunately Ruslan Neshcheret played brilliantly and saved us several times. Then, after Shakhtar scored early in the second half, we turned the game around and took control – that was the turning point.
– Why do you think the first half went so poorly? And what did the coach say at halftime to change things?
– That’s football – things can’t always go perfectly. In the second half we slightly adjusted our formation. The halftime talk was calm and constructive, without shouting. Yes, we conceded first but overall we played much better in the second half – created plenty of chances, scored twice and won.
– Did conceding that quick goal early in the second half fire you up?
– Honestly, yes (smiles). After we conceded we started playing completely differently. We’ll analyze this match in detail because we face Shakhtar again on Sunday in the league – and in that one we need to start playing like that from the very first minutes, not from the 55th.
– In the second half, the team showed great character and energy to come from behind. Where did you find the strength for that?
– If we can maintain a high tempo right until the end of the match it means we’re in good physical shape.
– Recently Dynamo have been scoring more from set pieces – two against Kryvbas and another one today. Does that make you happy?
– Of course, it does. We pay a lot of attention to set pieces – both attacking and defensive – during training.
– Have you already started thinking about the upcoming league match against Shakhtar on Sunday?
– Let us catch our breath first after today’s game (smiles). From tomorrow we’ll start preparing for the next one.
