Taras Mikhavko: "It's only the first half in our confrontation with Salzburg"

Dynamo defender Taras Mykhavko commented on the first match of the Champions League playoff qualifying round against Salzburg (Austria) (0: 2).

- Taras, what are your emotions? It must be a shame to lose 0-2, given that we also had chances to score?

- Yes, of course, it is a shame that we conceded, although we could have scored, we also had good chances. But, unfortunately, this is the result. Nevertheless, we do not give up, because there is still a return match, we will prepare, analyze the mistakes we made, and everything will be fine. This is only the first half in our confrontation with Salzburg, the second match will be in Austria. We will approach it in a good mood, analyze everything and play.

- In the first half, Salzburg tried to quickly switch from defense to attack, after the break there were fewer of these attacks, including your ability to "snack" on your opponents at several points. How difficult was it to act individually against Salzburg's players?

- Of course, Salzburg has a good team, they kept the pace and it was not easy. But we knew it would be like that because it was a Champions League playoff match, and all the teams here are of a good level. So, we were prepared, but unfortunately, it happened that we conceded an unfortunate goal in the first half, and this, of course, affected us. We didn't give up, we wanted to score, and we came out for the second half thinking that we needed to score and at least equalize. But it turned out that a penalty kick was awarded to our goal, and this again hit us psychologically. Nevertheless, we still wanted to score a goal, we were striving for it, but unfortunately, we failed. I think we still have everything ahead of us, there is a return match, so we will strive to get a positive result for ourselves.

- Dynamo tried to score, they took a lot of corners, Popov hit the post after a corner kick, and we also created chances. Was it difficult to play against Salzburg on the second floor?

- Not that it was difficult. It's just that they have a good team, the players are well prepared physically, and it was not easy for us - that's for sure. We knew that they play in this style, but to be honest, it was not easy.

- While it was raining in the first half, it stopped in the second half. To what extent did this affect the game in general and the transitions from defense to attack in particular?

- Of course, it affected our game, but the conditions are the same for both teams, so there is no point in complaining about anything.

- In the Champions League qualifiers, Dynamo plays all its first matches at home. Today, almost eight thousand spectators were present at the stadium. How much did you feel their support?

- We felt this support every minute, and we thank the fans for coming to the stadium and supporting us. Also, of course, sincere gratitude to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, without whom we would not have been able to play here.