Mladen Bartulović: «The referee worked well, but when our pressure on Shakhtar became more significant, he gave us a red card»

The head coach of Luhansk Zorya, Mladen Bartulović, commented on his team’s loss to Donetsk Shakhtar (0:1) in yesterday’s match of the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Cup.

«I thank my team for a good match, for their attitude. The guys showed a very decent game. Unfortunately, we fell a bit short. The referee, overall, worked well, but at a crucial stage of the game, when our pressure became more significant, he gave us a red card. There shouldn’t have been one in that episode. The maximum should have been a yellow card.

We watched many matches of Shakhtar. We prepared the guys for a tough match. In my opinion, we dealt well with the opponent. We worked compactly and aggressively, especially in the second half. There were moments when we could have scored. Overall, I am satisfied with our actions in this game,» — Bartulović’s words are quoted by the official website of Zorya.