Shakhtar U-19 head coach Oleksiy Bielik commented on the 1-2 loss to Dynamo U-19 in the 28th round of the Ukrainian Youth Championship.
Oleksiy Belik (photo: shakhtar.com)- "In general, I am satisfied with everything except the result, but this happens when you are constantly on the ball and actually do not allow the opponent to create almost anything, and they take advantage of the moment at the first opportunity. "Dynamo U-19 is famous for the fact that it can suffer, playing with a low block, and then organise a quick counterattack. Yes, someone might say that, based on the standings, we should have played a low block and counterattacked, but that's not our style. Regardless of the coaches or players, Shakhtar Academy will always bring up bright individual personalities who will bring results.
We had injuries to Latsabidze, Udod and Drozd, who are the main players in the defence line, and young Sheleketa and Kostyuk played in their positions, and they did a great job and shut down the best scorer in the youth championship. I'm completely satisfied with the game, and the defeat is probably all the more offensive. We outplayed the opponent in almost everything, played our football, controlled the ball, tried to create goal-scoring chances. Yes, we didn't create many opportunities, but there were options when we shot from mid-range, closed flank passes and hit the post. In fact, there was a lack of quality in the final phase of the attack and pre-goal passing, but this happens, and even the strongest teams in the world sometimes have problems when the opponent quickly rebuilds in defence and plays a low block.
I am proud of the way the team played and believe that the players gave their best, only a goal was missing to get a positive result. I would also like to thank the players of the Shakhtar Academy of all ages and the fans who came to support us at the stadium. It motivated the team a lot," Belik was quoted as saying by Shakhtar's official website.
