Dynamo U-19 head coach Ihor Kostiuk commented on his team's 3-2 victory over Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in an away match at the club's country club base in Koncha Zaspa.
Ihor Kostiuk (photo: fcdynamo.com)- It was a tough victory, because of the long anxiety we had to stay in the shelter for a long time, but it was just enough time to talk to the guys, discuss all the things that prevented us from achieving a positive result in the first half, and only allowed us to draw, and also to pay attention to what we can and should do to achieve victories. So in the second half, another team came on the field, with a different attitude, and won.
- Several goals were scored from long range, do you practice such shots in training or did the boys improvise?
- Due to the weather conditions, the pitch was slippery, so we told the boys to try to hit from medium and long range. It worked, and we scored our goals. There were a few such shots in the first half, but in those episodes the opponent's goalkeeper played well, or our players were let down by their accuracy - they lifted the ball up instead of pressing it, as Ponomarenko did in the second half.
- Did the anxiety that lasted for three and a half hours make you change your tactics for the second half?
- The main message to the guys was about the desire and attitude to play with, the means to achieve results and victories in order to make progress. Again, we had enough time to explain this to the guys in depth - three and a half hours (smiles ). I'm glad they heard it and when we talked to them after the game, they agreed that the attitude plays a crucial role. And tactics and execution come second.
- Comment on the moments that led to the missed goals.
- In the first case, there was a series of mistakes by the defenders, who did not move, did not occupy the zone when the ball hit the flank. The full-back missed the ball, didn't move to it, so the opponent played ahead and scored. As for the second episode, this goal is striking in its beauty. We love football for such moments. The goalkeeper is helpless in a situation where the ball follows such a trajectory to the far corner, right into the back nine. Give this player 20 more shots like that and he won't miss.
- How do you plan to spend the pause associated with national team matches?
- Our national teams of players born in 2006 and 2005 play at the expense of the pupils of the Dynamo school. On the one hand, it is good that we have so many national teams, but on the other hand, we will have to quickly restore them. We have our next game against Rukh in two days after they return from the national teams. And there they will have three matches in two days on the third, so the schedule is very busy. In total, 8 guys have been called up to the national teams, and I repeat, they will need to recover and tone up quickly in order to play well against Rukh.
