FC Dynamo Kyiv head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi answered journalists’ questions after the win against FC Karpaty Lviv (3:1) in the UPL matchday 3 game.
- It’s a tough win. Generally it’s always interesting to play against Karpaty. We had certain circumstances, logistical first of all, that make things a bit difficult. That’s why we let some players have rest. Still we have enough players who must be ready to take the field any moment and fulfill our tasks.
- What do you think of Karpaty and the disallowed goal by Ustymenko?
- Actually the score could be 2:2, 5:1 or even bigger. Football is the game in which the team that uses more chances wins. We created enough opportunities to end the game more calmly.
I don’t want to comment upon Karpaty. As I’ve said, it’s always interesting to oppose them and it’s always nice to come here. Fans’ support is incredible here. I wish all stadiums were full and we could get back to normal life. I want to thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine for giving us the chance to play football.
- Do you count on Brayan Ceballos?
- I count on all players we have. He just needs time to understand how we play. Besides, there’re some communication issues as he speaks Spanish which we don’t. But Brayan learns fast. He’ll definitely get his time on the field.
- It seemed that Dynamo played at medium speed from the very beginning. Was this your plan? Usually Dynamo play much faster…
- Usually, the weather is much more favorable for higher speed. Besides, it took us almost a day to get to Lviv. Right after the game against Rangers we went to the airport and spent a few hours there as Rzeszow airport doesn’t accept flights at night. So we arrived in Rzeszow at about 5 in the morning and took a bus to come to Lviv at around 11. Of course we couldn’t have a training session as players needed some rest. The following day we had two sessions, but we couldn’t offer certain exercise load as not enough time had passed since the end of the previous game. Besides, it was really hot today.
But that’s fine. Also one should note that although we were focused on this match, partially our thoughts were of the match against Salzburg.
- Did you want to postpone the game against Karpaty?
- UPL decided not to. If they asked me, I would say it’s a good decision, but not under the circumstances our country currently lives in. Currently we can’t get to our destinations quickly by plane, so this issue needed to be debated, put to a vote, but with the caveat that it only comes into effect after we return to normal life after the war. But we have what we have, so we just keep working.
- So why did they postpone your game against Vorskla?
- That’s a different story. In all European leagues, teams that play euro cups play-off rounds, can postpone domestic games if those are scheduled between euro cups matches. Actually, that’s what Salzburg did as well.
