Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Vladyslav Kabayev commented on his team's 2-1 victory over Dnipro-1 in yesterday's match of the 26th round of the Ukrainian championship in Dnipro.
- We managed to achieve what we wanted - to win three points. You saw how the game went - we were losing along the way, but we showed character. In the second half, we switched on the speed and managed to do a lot of things. So now we have only positive emotions. But now we're going to take the bus home, and tomorrow we need to prepare for the next game.
- After an inexpressive first half, Dynamo made a real transformation after the break, as if a different team had taken to the pitch...
- Yes. I don't know what it was about. Speaking personally, I didn't sleep well, I realised how often I 'flew' here, so I sat in the corridor for a while at night when rockets were flying towards Dnipro. Plus, the sun was still warm at the stadium, which may sound strange to some, but such little things also play a role. We conceded, we started to feel morally pressured, but first Oleksandr Volodymyrovych in the dressing room, and then Yarmolenko in the circle found important and correct words, and came out for the second half with a different attitude. Personally, I felt angry in a sporty way. We understood that we only needed a win, even a draw was tantamount to defeat. So, indeed, a different team came out, and even inside there were different emotions.
- But the score remained tied until the last few minutes...
- Yes, but we must pay tribute - Dnipro-1 has a very good team. I saw that they lost points in previous matches, but they have a very good team in terms of player selection. And you can't beat them on one leg. Basically, like other teams, everyone knows how to play football now. It's nice that everyone expects only victories from us, and we want that ourselves, but there are such difficulties.
- At the end of the game, there was a lot of controversy over a disallowed penalty and Tymchyk's red card. What is your vision of these episodes?
- I think no one is interested in my vision now. Let's wait until the championship is over, then maybe I'll speak out (smiles). In my opinion, the referee let the threads of the game go a little bit. He didn't give a penalty, Tymchyk got carried away - and immediately a red card. He had to understand that it was emotion, nothing more. He also gave cards to some people for talking, and not to others...
- In stoppage time, Dynamo could have lost the game if Bushchan hadn't saved twice...
- It happens. You push and push, achieve your goal, and calm down a bit. It's on a psychological level. You no longer think about how to score, but on the contrary - how to preserve the result, you sit down on the defensive, so such moments arise.
- Can a difficult victory over a strong opponent become a kind of catalyst for Dynamo in the championship fight?
- But we were already fully prepared for this fight. Under the leadership of Oleksandr Shovkovskyi, we have played 15 matches, in which we won 13 and drew twice. So we are on the right track.
Now all our thoughts are only about the fight for the championship. Yes, we have lost a lot of points, but there is still a game against Shakhtar, plus the Miners have difficult matches ahead - against Dnipro-1, Chornomorets and Polissya. So we continue to believe in ourselves, and I hope that in the end this will help us achieve what we want.