Acting head coach of Luhansk Zorya Yuriy Koval commented on his team's defeat to Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv (2:3) in a postponed match of the group stage of the Conference League, which took place yesterday in Belgrade.
Yuri Koval"Everyone plays the way the opponent allows. "Maccabi is an experienced, skilled team. It is the leader in its own championship for a reason. They had problems before the first game, but now they have already picked up the pace. Plus the national team players have returned. The qualification of the players is quite high.
We tried, given our defensive play, to contain the opponent. We failed to do it. We conceded a goal at the end of the first half. We did not get into the game at the beginning of the second half. Then we conceded an unnecessary second goal ...
But we must thank our guys. They managed to reorganise, show the character of Zorya and fight to the end. This match can be credited to our dedication. There are claims to the skill, to the game in terms of positions, to some other moments, but there are no claims to the desire and character.
We could not win this game, but we could draw. We need to keep working. There is psychological pressure, games in European cups - a completely different tension. Nevertheless, we have chances and we will fight until the end," Koval said at the post-match press conference.
