Well-known Ukrainian coach Yuriy Virt told us what he thinks about Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih's 1-2 defeat of Czech side Viktoria in the first match of the Europa League 3rd qualifying round.
- We saw two different halves. In the first one, we scored a great goal and fought an even battle. It was expected that in the second half Kryvbas would play solid defense and look for chances on the counterattack.
A quick missed goal, followed by the second, was the result of individual mistakes. Having turned the match around, Victoria had a few more chances, and Kryvbas started to get their own. It's a disappointing result, but Kryvbas could have easily claimed a draw. Individual mistakes led to our team losing.
- Are the mistakes in conceded goals a lack of experience playing against such teams?
- Kryvbas hasn't played in European competitions for a long time. In the domestic arena, we will not see such aggressive teams as Victoria. They were charged up for the fight, successfully acted in the press, forcing Kryvbas to make mistakes. A loss in the center of the field led to Panos scoring a well-placed shot.
"Kryvbas had been preparing for such power football, but Vernydub's team was inferior in this aspect.
- Was Kryvbas ready for such an aggressive opponent?
- They were definitely prepared. Everyone noted that there would be a lot of struggle, but in micro-episodes Kryvbas lost. In the second half, a loss in the center of the field led to the first conceded goal. The lost fight also led to the second conceded goal. I was somewhat surprised by this, because Kryvbas hardly ever loses a game in the league.
- In the return leg, will Kryvbas be able to avoid the mistakes that cost them a positive result in Kosice?
- The team has a chance. We need to work on the mistakes that we made. We need to look for our moment, because there will not be many chances in the Czech Republic. And not to give up in the fight.
- What can you catch Victoria on?
- The goal scored by Kryvbas showed that Victoria is not without fault. Vernydub's teams are famous for their counterattacking football. We saw that the opponent may not be able to keep up with Kryvbas' speedy players. Fast attacks and quality finishing are the key to Victoria's passage on the sum of two matches.
Oleksandr Karpenko