On Tuesday, 12 March, in the match of the 21st round of the Ukrainian championship Dynamo Kyiv defeated Zorya Luhansk 2-0. The meeting took place in Kyiv at the Dynamo stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskiy. Here is the post-match press conference of the teams' coaches.
Oleksandr SHOVKOVSKY, Dynamo head coach:
- Again I want to say thank you for the fact that this match took place thanks to our defenders and defencewomen, who do everything to make us feel comfortable. And we will endeavour to give them, hopefully, good vibes.
- How did the snow affect the game plan?
- Of course, the weather conditions affected the actions of the players, but in the context of the game plan we tried to fulfil what we agreed with our players. Of course, there were some moments related to the weather conditions. For example, the speed of the ball was atypical, it stopped much faster than usual. But we tried to press, to fight immediately, to take the ball away and try to play more with the ball, to control the situation on the field, to undermine the opponent's defence. I think that, in principle, we managed to do all this.
- How satisfied are you with Mikhavko? Can we say that he has already become a full-fledged core player?
- What does it mean "a core player"? There is a starting lineup, and the base is all 27 players of the roster. We determine the starting lineup just before the game, depending on many circumstances.
As for Mikhavko, he has fully adapted to our requirements. His young age allows him to develop in many ways, and we, for our part, will do everything possible for him to succeed and to get stronger. But this applies to all the boys, whom I constantly tell that they should strive to become the best version of themselves. At the same time, there are demands of football that have to be fulfilled. If a player does that, he will develop himself and become better and better.
- There is a long pause ahead, connected with the national team matches. Are you planning any sparring during this period?
- In order to plan sparring, you need to have a certain number of players. Not just to put 11 players on the field, but to be able to make substitutions. Therefore, we do not count on sparring, but try to understand how many guys will be at our disposal during this period. Right now Yarmolenko, Buyalsky, Tsarenko, Supryaga, Malysh, Ignatenko are not ready to play. And this is despite the fact that 12 players of our team were called up to different national teams. And now Tymchik has been called up.
Mladen BARTULOVIC, coach of Zorya:
- I congratulate Dynamo on the victory. And our young guys - with the debut in such a difficult match. In my opinion, the guys played well, and they have a good future.
- Was Saputin the best player in your team today?
- Yes, he played very well, he saved the team. This is a very good goalkeeper - the future of Ukrainian football and the national team of Ukraine.
- Why were there so many changes in your starting lineup today?
- Different reasons. We have a lot of injured players and those who could not play today. That is why our line-up turned out like this today.
Oleksandr POPOV from the Dynamo Stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskiy
