Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Oleksandr Pikhalonok shared his impressions after the 4:0 victory over Kryvbas in the Ukrainian Premier League in an interview with Profootball Digital.
– You came out very motivated today. How important was this win for the team?
– We were really fired up - we needed this victory badly. I hope we continue playing like we did today. Everyone fought for each other and for every ball, and I think the result was fully deserved. Where was this before? Sometimes there are periods when, unfortunately, things just don’t go your way. Hopefully we’re back on the right path now.
– When the score was 1:0 some fans said Dynamo would now sit back as often happened before. But you didn’t. Was that a conscious decision within the team?
– I understand where that question comes from because in previous matches we dropped deep after scoring and conceded. But today it was different - we pressed high man-to-man and tried to keep that intensity for all 90 minutes.
– You were very active in central midfield today doing a lot of defensive work - not something that’s typically your main role. Was that your personal task or a general team plan?
– The coach told us we needed to play tighter in midfield. I played a bit deeper today but if the team needs me to run and win balls back, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever it takes to win. But this is just one win after a tough stretch - we have a difficult schedule ahead so we’re focused on the next games.
– Tell us about the idea of Yarmolenko playing as a central forward. How long have you been working on that setup?
– Honestly, it was very interesting to play with him in that role because he’s such a high-quality player. We all know how smartly he moves - he knows when to drop deep, when to make runs behind defenders. It’s very easy to play with him. As for the idea, sometimes in training Andriy played as a forward so that’s probably where the idea came from.
– You had great chemistry with Artem Dovbyk at Dnipro-1. Was it something similar today with Yarmolenko?
– Both Artem Dovbyk and Andriy Yarmolenko are top-class players. It’s easy to play with them because they think like elite footballers - that’s what makes it enjoyable. But again, this was just our first game like this so we’ll see how it develops.
– Last season people often said Dynamo looked tired after European matches. But today you were full of energy almost the entire match.
– No team can perform at a top level in every single match. Sometimes you prepare perfectly all week but on matchday - it’s just not your day. It happens. But today everyone was really switched on and we had the energy to press and attack. Still we have to be careful with our words - next games are crucial: Shakhtar in the Cup and the league, then the Conference League, then LNZ. The schedule is tough and we must stay focused.
– You’re right that this was just one game. But what went wrong in the match against Samsunspor?
– First of all we conceded an early goal. Between the first and second goals we actually played quite well - if we had taken our chance the game might have gone differently. Then we conceded again and the third goal came from a deflection - after that it was hard to recover. In Turkey coming back from 0:3 is very difficult. Unfortunately that’s how the game went. Now we’ll prepare for next matches and hope for better results.
– Next up are two games against Shakhtar - a team that, like Dynamo, rotates between league and European fixtures.
– That’s right. In our circumstances, with all the travel and tight schedule, rotation is absolutely necessary - for both us and Shakhtar. It’s going to be an exciting matchup, a true derby.
