Midfielder of Oleksandriya Artem Kozak summarized yesterday’s match of the 16th round of the Ukrainian championship against Kyiv’s Dynamo (0:3).
Artem Kozak. Photo — FC Oleksandriya— An unfortunate result for Oleksandriya, the first defeat of the season. What are your impressions of the game?
— The assessment is negative, 0:3. There is much to work on. We failed to capitalize on our moments, but we need to work on that. I think we just had bad luck in this aspect today.
Dynamo had good finishing today, at a high level. They converted their chances immediately, while we did not.
— You played against Dynamo in the championship a few days ago. Is it harder or easier to play against the same team with such a short interval?
— It’s not difficult. We just needed to recover well to maintain good physical condition.
It’s interesting. But on the other hand, it seems to me that it would be interesting if the matches were spread out in the calendar — there would be more intrigue. But the championship is long, there will still be many victories, so we’ll see.
— Did you prepare for this match, considering the experience of the previous game played a few days ago?
— Of course, we took the previous match into account. The coaching staff pointed out the episodes that needed to be changed from the first game — they happened today. We just need to listen more to the coaching staff. And, as I said, there was a big factor in finishing.
— Before the first conceded goal, it seemed that Oleksandriya was playing quite well. Do you think the first goal was decisive in this game?
— Maybe. Perhaps the second [goal was decisive], I don’t know. It also seemed to me that the guys came out very well and looked great in that period of time before the first goal.
After that, everything got a bit blurry. Maybe we wanted to fight back, and there were open zones for us.
— The game in the second half was interrupted by an air alert. Did it affect you psychologically in any way, or were you still charged to play?
— We were charged. The coaching staff told us that we needed to go out and do what we want.
— What did Ruslan Rotan tell the team after the game?
— He thanked us for the game and pointed out our mistakes. We will analyze our game upon returning home.
— Does the defeat to Dynamo heavily impact Oleksandriya’s championship ambitions, or did you consider the possibility of losing to Kyiv in the direct match?
— Of course not. We did not think about losing. Who thinks about losing? (Laughs).
Anton Hreskiv
