The defender of Kyiv’s "Dynamo" Oleksandr Karavaiev commented on his team’s victory over "Oleksandriya" (3:0) in yesterday’s match of the 16th round of the Ukrainian championship on the YouTube channel FootballHub.
Oleksandr Karavaiev. Photo — Yu. Yuriev— In both of our matches against "Oleksandriya," strong coaching work by Ruslan Rotan was evident. I know personally how he and his assistant Serhii Kravchenko analyze games — it is very strong. Their game plan was visible; they pressed very hard. But today we played a bit differently compared to the first match, we exploited the space behind the opponents, and free zones appeared. This created opportunities.
However, both we and "Oleksandriya" started the matches cautiously, as no one wanted to lose points in a situation where the fate of the current leadership in the league table is at stake. But then we scored, and that broke our opponent. If the team that scores first is in control of the game, it is hard to stop them.
— Do you pay increased attention to set-piece practice in training?
— I wouldn’t say we focus on this too much, but among ourselves, we noted that it had been about a year since we scored from set-pieces. At some point, it had to happen if you continuously train for it. Today what we practiced in training came to fruition.
— What instructions did the head coach give you when you were preparing to come on as a substitute?
— There aren’t any specific instructions. We understand that we have a very busy schedule with constant games. We have 25 players who must always be ready. It doesn’t matter if you come on in defense or attack — you must be prepared to do your job. Because the same 11 players cannot constantly play — rotation is necessary, which we, in general, are achieving. This is very beneficial for the team, keeping all players in good condition.
— Ahead is another match in the Europa League. Does a victory like today’s provide motivation in conditions when the team is already exhausted?
— Anything can happen. There are three matches left. Of course, some fatigue accumulates. But we are used to this schedule. It does affect some players; some get injuries, but we have a large squad, so we can substitute each other in any game.
We are constantly recovering because of the intense schedule. Of course, it is a bit hard being constantly on the road — by bus, train, airplane, but you are glad that you have such an opportunity. We thank our Defenders for that! We accept this situation and must find our way out of it.
