On Sunday, November 3, in the match of the 12th round of the Ukrainian championship, Kyiv "Dynamo" defeated "Inhulets" from Petrove with a score of 5:2. The match took place in Kyiv at the "Dynamo" stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi. Here is the post-match press conference of the head coach of the capital team, Alexander Shovkovsky.
- Congratulations to all the fans of our team on the victory. Despite the score, it was not an easy game.
Considering that last Wednesday we played 120 minutes in the cup match against "Vorskla", and before that, just two days later, we played against "Shakhtar", I gave the team a full day off so that the guys could rest a little and recharge emotionally.
We prepared the team for today’s match, understanding what our opponent would rely on. We expected a lot of fighting. We also understood that set pieces were one of the moments that "Inhulets" would focus on. And we actually didn’t do well in that component today.
I am mostly satisfied with the team’s actions in attack: they executed the strategies well, the players made the right decisions. We could have scored even more goals.
- Today, your team's defense did not look very solid. What’s the reason?
- I won't answer your question right away. But I agree with you that we had certain problems today. There is something for the coaching staff to think about. And of course, for the players.
- Mihavko's own goals have become some sort of anomaly.
- Leave him alone! I am satisfied with his actions in today’s match in terms of game organization, and how he executed the first pass. He probably needs to go through these trials. Ask me questions, but don't touch the guy. An own goal is not a problem for me at all if we score five goals.
Alexander Shovkovsky. Photo - Yu. Yuriev- What’s the situation with the injured players?
Alexander Pikhalyonok is slowly starting to work, but he has an unpleasant injury - a calf muscle injury. I know how difficult this injury is in terms of healing and how careful one needs to be to endure a certain amount of time. Alexander is just at the beginning of this path.
Popov is only supposed to start working in the main group, but I am currently considering whether it makes sense to take him with me to Hamburg for the match against "Ferencvaros". He is not ready, he has missed a lot, he has certain problems with his back. And he finds it very difficult to cope with all these travels. It’s possible that Popov will stay in Kyiv to prepare individually for the next match.
Yarmolenko has returned. Fortunately, Shaparenko has no complications after the cuts he had. He played quite a good match today, although there are moments where he needs to focus his attention. In attack, he, like the whole team, worked much better than in defensive actions.
- 5:2 - is it a good result, or would it have been better to win with a score, for example, 2:0?
- A win is always a win. Of course, I always want to play to zero and score as many goals as possible. But the opponent’s team also has its goals for the match and tries to achieve them. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this victory. On one hand, I am satisfied; on the other hand, not so much.
Post-match press conference of the head coach of "Inhulets", Vasily Kobin
Alexander POPOV from the "Dynamo" stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi
