Former Ukrainian national team player Vasyl Kobin told us what helped Shakhtar win the Champions League clash with Antwerp in Hamburg, Germany.
Vasyl Kobin- Those fans who expected to witness a spectacular match in Germany were wrong. After all, it's no secret that beauty fades into the background when the desired result is at stake.
- The quick goal helped Marino Pušić's men believe that they would force Antwerp to capitulate.
- "Yes, it gave us confidence, primarily psychologically. After all, I still remember that first-round match in Antwerp, when the visitors, losing 0-2 in the second half, reached a breakthrough and won a super-willful victory, although the "citizens" could have saved themselves, but missed a penalty in stoppage time.
- There were also two different halves.
- I liked the first one better, when the nominal hosts took the lead quite quickly and then seized the initiative and dictated the terms. I don't know what the instructions were during the break, but in the second half Shakhtar were already playing to the scoreline. The Belgians began to control the ball more often, but it was felt that the Donetsk team would immediately add to their lead if necessary. Even in such circumstances, Shakhtar were sharper, twice the crossbar became an ally of the townspeople, and Bondarenko failed to convert a one-on-one with the opposition goalkeeper.
- Do you think the victory was deserved?
- As they say in such cases, we won with class and, importantly, did not make every effort to do so. I also liked the fact that we allowed the Belgians to create only a few half-chances at our goal.
