Dynamo U-19 captain Nazar Balaba commented on the match against Rukh Lviv, in which Kyiv won 5-1 and became the champions of Ukraine among youth teams:
- To be honest, we are very happy. We celebrated like probably no other team has ever celebrated - for a very long time and with a lot of fun. "Rukh and Shakhtar have won the championship before, but this year we were stronger than anyone else. I think our team was stronger than the players, we were a united whole, a collective, and thanks to that, we won the championship. We are very happy that it happened.
- You scored the decisive goal against Shakhtar, and now you have beaten Rukh, but there were also defeats during the season. What are the reasons for the differences in results?
- We have a young team, there are guys younger than me. The difference between an average player and a good one is instability. We tried to win every game, but it just didn't work out, we weren't the team we wanted to be. But the coach set us up for each game. And before such matches as with Shakhtar, there is no need for words - everyone understands that this is a principled opponent. "Rukh is also principled - last year they became champions, we had complaints about the refereeing, but everyone was silent. This season we proved that we are the strongest team in Ukraine.
- At what score did you realise that Dynamo would not lose the game?
- When Geric scored the last goal (smiles). Actually, I waited until the last minute, because everything happens in football: you can score three goals in two minutes. It's hard, but it's possible. So I waited for the final whistle, and only after that I started to rejoice. As for the game, we scored the first goal and outplayed the opponent for 15-20 minutes. They equalised with their first attack, and we had many chances, we completely dominated the field. When we conceded, we got a little bit stuck, this event shook us up. But when there was an alarm, we talked a bit, the coaching staff pointed out our mistakes, what we did wrong, or rather, gave us advice on what to do and how to do it better to make it easier for us.
So, after the alarm, we went out on the pitch, scored another goal, then another, and, one might say, "closed the game". At the end of the match, Matkevich was running with the ball himself, there was a bit of a mess, but it was good that everything ended well. If Rukh had scored when Matkevich lost the ball, it would not have been so fun. You have to play from the first to the last minute.
- Judging by the way you celebrated, do you still have energy left after the game?
- No, but when you are happy, adrenaline kicks in. After the final whistle, we weren't so happy on the pitch, we just fell on the turf. It was very hot, we hadn't played in such a heat for a long time. And in the dressing room, the president came to us, thanked us together with the coaching staff, the music came on, and we started celebrating.
- What exactly did the club president and the coaches say?
- It was a nice conversation. When you win, you can talk for a long time, but after defeats you want to be silent (smiles). Today was Ozymai's birthday, and we all congratulated him - the president, the coaching staff, and the team. Gerich came back after a serious injury and almost six months off and scored almost in his first attack. We also congratulated him. This proves that we have a team. It was the fifth goal, but we ran and were sincerely happy for our partner.