Dynamo head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi commented on the away victory over Karpaty (3-1) in the 3rd round of the Ukrainian championship at a press conference.
Oleksandr Shovkovsky (photo: fcdynamo.com)- A very difficult victory. In general, matches with Karpaty, wherever they take place, are very interesting. We had certain circumstances, first of all, logistics adds some difficulties. Because of this, we gave some players a chance to rest, some came off the bench. In general, we have enough players in the squad to be ready to go on the field at any time and solve problems. We have a team consisting of almost 30 players.
- How would you assess the level of Karpaty? And what do you think about Ustymenko's goal that was canceled due to offside?
- Indeed, the score could have been 2:2, 5:1, or even more. Football is a game where the one who realizes more opportunities wins. We created enough chances to finish the game more calmly. But we ended the game the way we did, and there were good opportunities for swift counterattacks that we had to realize.
I don't want to comment on the game of Karpaty. From the very beginning, I have already said that matches with Lviv are always interesting, it is always a pleasure to come here, there is great support from the fans. I want the stadiums to be filled again, as they used to be, so that we all return to normal life. I am grateful to our Armed Forces of Ukraine for giving us the opportunity to play football and for keeping football alive in our country.
- Do you count on Bryan Ceballos? What is his current form?
- I count on all the players we have. He just needs some time to understand our interactions. There are also some problems with communication, because he speaks Spanish, and no one here knows this language. However, Brian is a quick learner, and he is great at giving his partners on the field during the training process. So he will definitely wait for his playing time.
- It seems that Dynamo played at medium speed from the very beginning. Was that the setup? After all, Dynamo usually plays much faster...
- Usually, the weather is much more favorable to demonstrate higher speeds. Plus, it took us almost a day to get to Lviv. Immediately after the match with Rangers, we went to the airport and waited there for several hours, as Rzeszow Airport does not accept flights at night. As a result, we arrived in Rzeszow at about 5 a.m., immediately took a bus, and arrived in Lviv at about 11 a.m. Of course, there was no training out of the question, because the guys couldn't rest properly after the game in Glasgow. So we actually had one day off. The next day we had two training sessions, but we also had limited opportunities, we could not give high loads, because not enough time had passed since the last game. In addition, the hot weather affected us. I think it was not very comfortable for you to sit in the stands, and the guys had to go out and play.
But it's normal. Also, even though we were preparing for a very serious game, we were still thinking about the upcoming important matches with Salzburg.
- Did you want to postpone the match with Karpaty?
- This is another question, and the UPL decided not to postpone the match. If you asked the opinion of the coaches, including mine, I would also say that this is a great decision, but not in the conditions in which the country is living now. Since we do not have the ability to quickly get to our destinations by air, this issue should have been discussed, properly prepared, and put to a vote - but with a note that it will come into effect only after we return to normal life after the war. That would be the right thing to do. But we have what we have, so we work on.
- Then why did you postpone the game with Vorskla?
- It's a different situation here. In all European championships, teams playing in the playoff rounds of European cups can postpone their matches in national championships that are scheduled in the calendar between matches in the international arena. Salzburg did the same, by the way.
