Yesterday, as part of the 17th round of the Ukrainian league, Shakhtar defeated Kryvbas 3-0 in Kryvyi Rih. Here are the post-match comments from the teams' head coaches.
Yuriy VernydubYuriy Vernydub, head coach of Kryvbas: "A lot of things went wrong today. We lost 0:3. Not the score I would like to see. But it is what it is. We have to keep our heads up and move on. "Shakhtar is the leader of the Ukrainian championship; a club that regularly plays in the Champions League. I congratulate them on their victory today and wish them to pass the Fairyland. As for us, we will watch the game and analyze our mistakes.
Although we played 0-0 in the first half, this is not the kind of football I want to see us play. We were afraid of something. If we played well at the back, the transition from defense to attack was poor. That's why there were no chances to score. Although Shakhtar didn't have much of a chance either. In the second, they seemed to start moving, but conceded. Sudakov scored a great goal. But there was a mistake by our guys that allowed us to strike.
The main thing is that we played Shakhtar in Kryvyi Rih. Although there were many nuances on Shakhtar's part... They even made public their schedule of stay in Kryvyi Rih: when they eat, sleep and go to the toilet. To be honest, it's ridiculous, it's so hard for them... Guys, it is hard where you are not. Where our Ukrainian defenders are now doing their best to make sure we can do our favorite job.
These guys look death in the eye every day. That's how hard it is. Yes, I am grateful for the fact that Shakhtar earns points for Ukraine. I think every UPL coach will support me. Don't they think it's hard for other UPL teams? Is it hard to travel to other cities?! This is what outrages me. And this is the behavior of their coach from what I have seen... This does not suit Jovetic at all. If you learned the Ukrainian language, then be a Ukrainian to the end.
And to turn away when you go to shake his hand... This is his business. Well, he is offended. My message to FC Shakhtar is not to whine because we have it "very easy". Once again, I thank the guys of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who protect us and give us the opportunity to play football. They do everything to make sure that we win as soon as possible."
Igor Jovicevic, Shakhtar head coach: "Indeed, you have a good team that will eventually fight for places in European competitions. "Kryvbas has great potential. I respect your club. You are the only team to beat Dnipro in the first round. We were seriously preparing for the match against Kryvbas.
FC Shakhtar said that it took them 20 hours to get to Kryvyi Rih from Warsaw, when in fact it was a maximum of 10 hours? I respect your question. But, unfortunately, you were not with us on the bus and did not feel our entire journey. If you had been with us, you wouldn't have asked this question. Yes, it was not 20 hours, but it was not much less than 19. There were many detentions: with the bus, with the border. These three points are a great success for us against the backdrop of the results of our competitors on the tour.
Is it worthy for the coach of FC Shakhtar to send the vice-president of FC Kryvbas to ***? I absolutely agree with you. You are right here. I apologize if I damaged your authority at that moment. I do apologize. But understand that we are all human and have emotions. In some moments, emotions can be overwhelming. This will not happen again in the future. Football is about emotions. I apologize again.
I want to say that playing in the European arena allows us to play at our best in the league against such good rivals as Kryvbas. And this is good for Ukrainian football. I hope the war ends soon and the fans return to the stands. You have a good coach and a good team to fight for a place in European competitions. For the rest, I'm sorry again. This match was down to the wire, it was obvious. We scored first, so we won in the end."
