FC Dynamo Kyiv head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi has commented upon the win against FC Vorskla Poltava in the UPL matchday 22 game.
- First of all I want to thank our defenders, who protect our country, for everything they do. In particular, I would like to thank the air defense forces. You saw how long the air raid alert lasted.
I’d like to congratulate Ukrainian football fans on our national team qualifying for the Euro-2024 finals proving than no matter how tough things are, we always fight till we win.
As for the game... It’s always difficult to play after international matches. A lot of efforts and emotions were spent. I want to thank guys for understanding and fulfilling our plan.
The final score reflects what happened on the field. Today we used our chances really effectively.
- Today we witnessed the duel of coaches, who used to be goalkeepers. Do you think this trend will continue?
- We have a long history with Serhiy Dolhanskyi. We even used to play for Ukraine U16-18 together, so we always had a healthy competition.
As I’ve said, during the international break we had only 12 players left, so we had to invite the U19 performers. Our players needed to recondition as it’s always difficult to play in Poltava. I wish Vorskla all the best in further games. We knew that physically they would be doing better than us, so we had to demonstrate our dedication, motivation and effectiveness.
I wish Serhiy Dolhanskyi lots of victories, but not against Dynamo (smiling).
- Andrii Yarmolenko is finally back. Would he have taken the field today if Dynamo weren’t in front by miles?
- He was ready to play, but not the whole game. We planned his substitute appearance in advance and wanted him to play for 15-30 minutes. Andriy has had quite difficult recovery, but his authority in the team means a lot.
