Alexandria defender Oleksandr Martyniuk shared his expectations for the matches against Kyiv Dynamo (December 4 — postponed match of the 1st round of the Ukrainian championship, December 8 — match of the 16th round).
— Is Alexandria already fighting for the championship?
— There is no specific talk about the championship, but all the guys want to prove that we can and must try hard in every game and aim for our goal. We want to write the club's history.
— There are two games ahead against Dynamo. The first one is very close, how are you preparing?
— There is little time, but we are trying to prepare and analyze the opponent. We are preparing our own tactics and a plan on how to counter them. We will play to win and give it our all.
— Do you feel a certain fatigue after the last match with Chornomorets?
— Yes, of course, because I played 90 minutes, we are playing again in two days on the third, so we haven't fully recovered. It’s okay, we are doing procedures, recovering, and preparing for Dynamo.
— Has Ruslan Petrovich already shared the preliminary plan for the game?
— Everything will be directly before the game. Both the starting lineup and the game plan.
— Have you watched Dynamo's matches in European cups? What do you think about their performances overall?
— Their performances are certainly not the best, but Dynamo is generally a good team, has quality rotation, where you can replace one player with another and nothing will change. All players are of high class, can replace each other, and the game won’t suffer from that. They look quite good in UPL this year. In European cups, they are a bit unlucky, but I think that with such play, they can demonstrate their level well.
— Will it be an advantage for Dynamo that they are playing in a similar rhythm: from the second day to the third already half a season, while Alexandria has such practice only during the matches of the Ukrainian Cup?
— I don’t know, it may be an advantage, or maybe not. Maybe they are already exhausted because there are only three rounds left until the end of this half of the season. It won't be easy for them at such a pace, considering the long travels. It will be difficult for both teams in the central match of the round. Dynamo is the leader of UPL, so I expect an interesting and hard game. We must strive to win, fight, and go for our goal.
Igor Lysenko