FC Dynamo Kyiv head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi answered media questions after the UPL matchday 26 game against FC Shakhtar Donetsk (2:2).
- It was another quite poor first half from your team. And again things changed rapidly after the break. What’s that about?
- First of all, congrats to all Ukrainian football admirers on another classic derby. I think fans like this kind of tension on the field. I want to emphasize that players of both sides acted decently. Such games benefit Ukrainian football and encourage to keep working.
I agree we witnessed two different halves. We let the opponent get confident by making rough mistakes our players don’t have a right to make. Throughout the halftime we had a conversation and made certain adjustments. I told that I don’t care about the final score, but I want to see 11 men on the field who prove that the first half was an accident.
- Usually gaffers make substitutions to change the situation. Did you feel you shouldn’t substitute anyone? What made players do better in the second half?
- First of all, it’s all about themselves. Secondly, our adjustments turned out to be effective. If we want to reach our goals, we must always do our best on the field and outside it. Today we had two different halves, but I’d give us 10 out of 10 for the character.
- How important is it for you to finish the league season without a single defeat?
- Basically we have a general goal for the season. This path can be rough. As you know, the most important game is always the next one. But anyway only the bigger picture matters.
- Are you going to enforce the team in summer?
- We’ll think of our plans after the end of this season.
- Dynamo approached the game being way in front of Shakhtar. Did this impact your players?
- Draw is not the outcome we wanted, but considering what was happening on the field, it’s a pretty decent result.
- Did Shakhtar surprise you after the break?
- You play the way opponent lets you to. In the first half we let Shakhtar feel confidence and our mistakes were crucial. We did our best to change the situation. I’m satisfied with our performance in the second half.
- You have another game against Shakhtar this season – the Cup final. Will this be a whole different one?
- I’ll think of that game when the time comes. For now, I need to get the team ready for the next match.
