Dynamo acting head coach Maciej Kędziorek answered questions from the media after the Matchday 11 Ukrainian Premier League fixture against Kryvbas, which ended in a 2:0 away victory for the White-and-Blues.
– It was an interesting game today. Dynamo’s matches in Kryvyi Rih are often accompanied by controversial refereeing decisions. Do you think the goals, particularly the first one, were scored without an offside? The referee had raised his flag.
– Thank you for the question. Yes, it is true that matches here always have their own specifics, with many incidents and emotions. I also remember our previous meeting, which ended 6:5. It was one of the craziest games I have ever seen. We knew that a difficult match awaited us today, and we did a lot to win it.
As for the refereeing decisions, I trust the VAR system and hope that the incidents were thoroughly checked. The referees spent quite a long time reviewing the replays, so I believe they ultimately made the right decision, and I respect it.
– During the first 15 minutes, Kryvbas had the upper hand, attacked actively and created dangerous chances. Dynamo were mostly defending. Was that your game plan?
– I agree that our performance during the first 15 minutes was not particularly good. This happened because we made mistakes during transitional phases and had certain problems with our organisation, but we managed to deal with them. After that, we created some very good chances, tried to move the ball well and eventually scored twice. So I believe the team responded well to a difficult start to the match.
I also watched Kryvbas’s game against Zorya and understood that a difficult match awaited us. And that is exactly how it turned out. After the sending-off, we had to change the way we played, and I am very pleased with how the team defended inside our penalty area. In my opinion, we dealt with the task well overall. If I am not mistaken, the most dangerous situations near our goal mainly came from outside the penalty area.
I would also like to add that recently there have been quite a lot of negative and nasty comments directed at my players. We can discuss certain aspects of their performances, but I disagree with claims that they lack determination, do not run or do not fight. If you look at our last three matches, the players gave everything and put in 100% in every one of them. I really appreciate that, because this is how team spirit is built.
– Was Ponomarenko’s substitution related to his yellow card?
– A little, yes. But at the same time, I have three good strikers in my team, and I do not want one of them to play all the time while the other two do not get their opportunities. Competition is important to me: if a team has three strong players, each of them should have the opportunity to get on the pitch.
Yes, Ponomarenko had already received a yellow card. At the same time, Pierre had been doing very well in training over the previous five days and had earned his chance. That was the main reason behind my decision. I want every player to understand that they always have an opportunity and a chance.
– Today, a truly historic event took place in Ukrainian football: Andriy Yarmolenko became the outright record holder for goals scored in the Ukrainian championship. What does it mean to you to be part of this achievement?
– I am very proud – both as a coach and as someone who is part of this team. Andriy Yarmolenko is one of the best footballers in the history of Ukrainian football, so he deserves only the warmest words. His goals are only part of what he brings to the team. Beyond scoring, he has an enormous influence on the squad as a leader, a footballer and a person. I am very glad that he is part of our team. I believe Andriy can be a wonderful example for young players of how they need to work in order to reach such heights. He has come a long way from the very bottom, worked hard and achieved incredible results thanks to his perseverance.
After the match, the atmosphere in the dressing room was very loud and emotional, as we were all celebrating this occasion and had been waiting for it. But this is not the end – I hope many more goals are still to come from him.
– Previously, under the former coach, there was a lot of talk about a crisis within the team and problems with its play. Can you already say that Dynamo have overcome this period and are gradually gaining momentum? Also, before today's match, your players seemed to have a lot of emotions, which turned into tension during the game. What was the reason for that?
– First of all, I want to say that I have never said anything bad about Kostiuk. I have great respect for him, and I worked as his assistant. Moreover, my professional ethics do not allow me to comment on situations like this. I can only say good things about him, and I have a great deal of respect for him. I am focused on what lies ahead for us and would not like to talk about the past. I concentrate on the things I can directly influence.
