Shakhtar defender Valeriy Bondar commented on the victory over Dynamo in the Ukrainian Premier League match.
Photo: shakhtar.com"But what chances did Dynamo have there? Maybe one iron - for the whole game"
- "I can say that the game was very difficult, as we were facing a principled opponent," admitted defender Valerii Bondar, "I think we played a very good match and fully deserved this victory. At times, Dynamo prevailed and had more opportunities to end the match in our favour. We fulfilled everything we agreed on, but there is still room for improvement. We need to do better than we did today and improve our game.
- What did you agree on? What was the tactical plan for the game?
- To keep the ball, play combinations and play mostly in the opponent's half of the field.
- Do you agree that in the first half Dynamo played as well as Shakhtar and had even more chances to open the scoring?
- What chances did Dynamo have? They may have had some half-chances, but not the kind that could lead to goals. Well, maybe one iron one for the whole game. But in the end, we managed to play to zero. And I'm personally happy with that!
- When defender Azarov was injured and Rakitsky came on the field, what changed?
- In tactical terms, nothing. Matvienko just moved to the left, and Rakitskiy took his place, next to me.
"We knew we would definitely score a goal"
- What did Marino Pušić focus on during the break?
- During the break, the coach told us that we had to play very carefully in defence - not to concede. He also said that we had to constantly put pressure on Dynamo's defence and score. We knew that we would definitely score a goal.
- What can you say about the goal that decided the fate of the match?
- As for the goal itself, at that moment the ball was on the flank, where Neverton played well, who gave a very good pass to Zubkov, and he played very skilfully and decided the fate of this match with an accurate shot.
- Did the goal affect Shakhtar's tactics?
- The quick goal at the beginning of the second half was to our advantage. Having taken the lead, we wanted to continue playing in the opponent's half of the field, but more cautiously, with an eye on our own goal. The score obliged us to sit down a little lower and act in this way.
- Do you have any complaints about the refereeing?
- No, the referee refereed the game very professionally.
- When the referee showed you a yellow card at the end of the match, what did you try to prove to him?
- I just wanted to tell Yaroslav Kozyk that there was no yellow card - there was no foul on my part. On the contrary, the Dynamo player committed a foul on me. For some reason, I got the yellow card, and the referee awarded a very dangerous free kick. However, after the game, Kozik told me: "There was no foul. I'm sorry I gave you a yellow card." But this is football, both we and the referees make mistakes.
- What does this victory give you? Do you feel like leaders already?
- No, no, and no again. Because in the standings we are still far from where we want to be. We have one task - to win the championship. Winning all the matches is the only acceptable result for us. It won't be easy, there are still a lot of games ahead and we need to come out and play one hundred per cent in every match. However, if we improve with each match, this is a feasible task for Shakhtar.
"In the coming matches, Dynamo will win and take their points"
- Who is Shakhtar's main rival in the fight for the championship?
- Of course, Dynamo. We cannot discount this team. Because this is Dynamo. I believe that in the coming matches Dynamo will win and take their points. We cannot ignore the fact that now in our championship there are many teams that have swung for high places. These are, first of all, Polissia, Kryvbas, and Chornomorets - teams that show good football and results. I can also note that we have a lot of new names that we have not heard much about before.
- After this game, Lucescu resigned. So it turns out that it was Shakhtar who removed him from office with their victory?
- This is not our business. It's Dynamo's internal affairs.
- How did you find out about Lucescu's resignation?
- Lucescu came to our dressing room and said that he was finishing his work at Dynamo. That's how he said goodbye to us. He probably said goodbye to his players before that. What can I say about that? Mircea Lucescu is a very good man. It is very difficult when coaches with such qualities leave football. I wish him only success.
- Serhii Rebrov was watching the match from the stands. Have you met him in any way?
- No, I didn't. He did not come to our dressing room. But I think all the national teams managed to talk to him.
Oleksandr PETROV
