Dynamo head coach Ihor Kostiuk commented on the team’s 1:3 away defeat to Polissya in an interview with UPL TV.
– Perhaps the sending-off played a cruel trick on us. Everyone knows that Polissya are good at playing on the counterattack and launching counterattacks. Unfortunately, we weren’t aggressive enough, we allowed counterattacks and lost individual duels and second balls, and that affected the result.
– Did the sending-off play a cruel trick on you in the sense that it effectively disrupted your initial game plan from the fifth minute?
– Yes, it disrupted our initial game plan. We also weren’t as mobile defensively, failed to reorganize, lost individual duels and second balls, made mistakes in attack, and allowed the opposition to launch quick attacks. This led to set pieces, and we conceded two goals from set-piece situations – a corner and a penalty. Then we opened up, and Polissya took full advantage.
– But why did this happen? Why did the players start losing their individual duels? Were they unprepared for this kind of scenario?
– We emphasized that we needed to play with even greater concentration when the opposition had a player sent off. Even a momentary lapse in concentration can lead to situations in which you fail to see things through to the end. Players think that having one more man on the pitch means they can afford to switch off at times, and that affected the result.
– Honestly, I really liked how aggressively your team started the match, because even the red card resulted from your players’ aggression and actions. But all of that disappeared once the opposition went down to ten men. Is this some kind of psychological problem?
– Yes, it’s a psychological problem. It gave us confidence but failed to bring the aggression and the right attitude we had shown in the first half. Then a certain degree of complacency played a cruel trick on us.
– Once again, you conceded from a set piece. Today, in particular, Ponomarenko lost track of Krasnopir when the corner was delivered. Do you plan to prepare each player individually for the specific opponent they will have to mark, given that this is becoming a recurring issue?
– Of course, we will have a conversation with the president now, and we are prepared for any scenario. We did everything within our power. We wanted to restructure the team, but there will be a discussion with the president regarding our future cooperation.
