Oleksandr Demchenko, the midfielder of Chornomorets Odesa who authored a double in yesterday's match between his team and Dynamo Kyiv (3:2) in round 26 of the Ukrainian championship, has summed up the game.
Alexander Demchenko. Photo by Yu.- Did you believe in beating Dynamo before the game?
- Roman Grigorchuk tuned us for the game with Kyiv so that we believed in the victory over Dynamo. The most important thing, our coach said, is for us to believe in our soul, our head, in a possible victory.
-Few people can beat Dynamo 2-0 by the 11th minute of the meeting. How did you manage to achieve such an advantage?
- We believed from the opening minutes that we could succeed. Our set-pieces helped us.
- Last round, Chernomorets lost a scandalous game to Dnipro 1. What was the mood in your team?
- There was anger. That game broke us a bit, but the match in Kyiv showed that we were able to cope with the situation.
- Before match in the capital of Ukraine, you could see that Chornomorets had gone away from the zone of qualifying matches. Was there any additional excitement?
- Of course. You know what is at stake. It is not easy when you know that every encounter is on the line for the gold.
- On the 11th minute, you made it 2-0 in favour of Chornomorets. What were your thoughts at that moment: to finish off Dynamo or hold on to the lead?
- We wanted to continue to attack, because we understood that we must not stop, especially against an opponent of such caliber. At the beginning of the second half we showed weakness, and we were immediately punished for it. Dynamo`s skill level is rather high. Not everything was possible in the second half, but our victory was more valuable.
- Let's remember your winning goal...
- Alefirenko gave me a pass and I wanted to return the ball to him, but I saw that he was covered by defenders and he did not have time. I had one option - to turn and shoot.
- Was it your best match of the season?
- Not for me to judge. The match was very emotional.
- The question about the leaders of the Ukrainian Premier League. Who is the strongest in terms of game: "Shakhtar", "Dnipro-1" or "Zoria"?
- I like Luhansk "Zoria".
- Who will be the champion of Ukraine?
- At the moment this question is very difficult to answer.
- Can Chornomorets breathe easy in the remaining four rounds?
- No, of course not. There will be four finals for us. After each round, everything changes. We are trying to get the maximum number of points. We do not want to be in the transition zone.
