Dynamo head coach Igor Kostiuk answered questions from media representatives after the match of the 5th round of the UPL against Cherkasy-based LNZ, which ended in a 0:0 draw.
– The second consecutive loss of points, but this time your team created more dangerous chances. What are your overall impressions of the game?
– You are right: losing points is the main thing that affects our position in the standings. Compared to the previous game, the team worked well today. There is no player whom you can reproach for not running or not wanting to play. The plan and tactics for the game worked, we only failed to score. We created enough chances; probably, we need to create even more and play more aggressively in the final third.
– Do you still feel the support of the club’s management against the backdrop of the results at the start of the season?
– We feel the support of the management. We had a meeting with the management and the players. We discussed all of this. We are moving from game to game. We need to win every match, correct the mistakes we make, and become stronger.
– The team has been strengthened by several new players. Bushchan played his first match after returning, Keasse Ba was in the squad. How is your acquaintance with the new players going? What impression have they already made on you? How are they adapting and integrating into the training process?
– Regarding Zhora, he does not need any additional time to adapt. He understands everything, knows everything; he is an experienced player. You saw everything on the football field today. Confidence, calmness in defense, ball control, which went through him – all of this gives our team additional opportunities that we can use on the pitch.
As for the other players: Ba was in the squad today, but for now we are not using him because he has only been with the team for two days. He makes a good impression in training, has good individual qualities, which I believe will help us.
– Why were the substitutions made so late? It seemed that the players no longer had enough time to change something. Was this the plan or a spontaneous decision?
– You saw that we dominated, and the players were working well. A goal was coming, we scored it, but it was disallowed. I saw no need to change anything because we were creating chances, playing aggressively and reorganizing. Then, as the game progressed, we made substitutions according to the situation. Sych asked to be substituted because of a cramp, and we also brought on Pikhaliyonok instead of Rubchynskyi. I believe Valik played quite well. We did not change Lonwijk because we wanted to have a height advantage during set pieces.
– Was Sych substituted because of an injury? What is his condition?
– We had to react quickly and make the substitution because we had no right to spend a long time thinking about whether he could continue the game or not. We reacted quickly to maintain the tempo. Malysh came on and covered the position well. But, of course, in attack we need to play a little more aggressively and put more pressure on the opponent’s penalty area.
– There was information that Vitaliy Buyalskyi would be out for three weeks. Can you confirm this?
– I don’t know where you got the information about three weeks. He has a minor injury. I believe he will recover sooner. The injury is not serious. Vitaliy is a professional; he understands how to recover from such injuries.
– Vyacheslav Surkis was not in the squad today. What happened to him? What is the reason?
– Slava has a back injury so he is currently recovering.
