- Do you agree that today you gained revenge against Shakhtar for your parting in 2016?
- It was hard to organize Dynamo football within such a short period of time and succeed, but we’ve don’t it. As for Shakhtar, revenge is totally out of the question. Anyway, I’d like to say a few words about the match.
The game wasn’t spectacular, it was a battle of two decent teams. Each had its weapons. It was a very important match to us as if we lost Shakhtar would have approached us in the league table.
We defended very orderly today. I know that titles are won due to proper defensive work. There are two methods in this regard. The first one is about fitness and tactical skills of players, good teamwork, preservation of distance between performers. That’s illustrative of our team.
The second option, I used in Shakhtar, is about possession. Shakhtar have very skillful players, who’re good at that. But we knew that and explained to our team. We defended really well and practically didn’t let Shakhtar create chances. As a coach, I’m thankful to my guys for doing what I asked them to.
- In four days Dynamo will feature in the Ukrainian Cup quarterfinal. How will you be getting ready for this match?
- Tomorrow morning we’ll gather to start preparations for this tough match. Ahrobiznes are really good team that outplayed Shakhtar.
Maybe I’ll make some substitutions to let more players participate. I’ve had individual conversation with Tsyhankov – probably most important performer of our team, who missed a lot and took the field only in the second half.
Of course the absence of Sydorchuk was substantial today, but Andriyevskyi-Shepelev duo did a good job against Barcelona and against BATE at the training camp. They have proper mutual understanding. That’s why I chose them today and I was right.
This morning I didn’t know who our centre backs would be as Zabarnyi has to wear a mask which is uncomfortable in a way. But I talked to Illia and he said he could play. I’m glad he’s had a good match.
- It seemed your team panicked a bit early in the second half. What’s the reason?
- I didn’t like the way our players treated the ball after dispossessing opponents. We need to work on that. The importance of this game influences the team. Guys had been really looking forward for victory.
