— Incredible feelings about returning to the starting lineup. It took a lot of time to recover from the injury; I had a relapse. Today, I stepped onto the field in the starting lineup for the first time in probably two and a half months. But thank God everything turned out well, I returned to the field, and we achieved an important victory today.
— Oleksandr Shovkovskyi said that even for him, the first goal was a surprise. Did you train that combination or act according to the situation?
— According to the situation. We gathered, I, Buialskyi, Vanat, and Nazik Voloshin, and decided to play it this way. Vanat made a great run too. Now we joke that we need to gather like this on the field more often, (smiles), and decide something spontaneously. It turned out great, a good combination — a superb goal, and it brought victory to the team.
— Did the weather and wet snow significantly affect the course of today’s match?
— The wind bothered more, blowing one way and then the other, especially when making passes, and it was impossible to predict the ball's flight. But the slippery field also affected — when I took a corner, I slipped. "Veres" made us a bit nervous today, but the most important thing is the victory, so we can go into the break with a lead over our pursuers and in good spirits.
— The minimal score of 1:0 throughout the match didn’t allow you to feel calm?
— Yes, that's true. You have to play until the last minute; we did that and won.
— In the first round match, you also defeated "Veres" by a margin of one goal, then the score was 2:1, so this opponent is always tough?
— Yes, they are a fighting team. You probably noticed that they also took points from "Shakhtar" and "Oleksandriya". It’s always very difficult to play against them, but we prepared for that, and the game turned out as we expected.
— What score can you give yourself and the team on a ten-point scale for the first part of the season?
— If for the championship, then 10, and regarding the European cups, there’s no score here. We have zero points — what can be said or evaluated here.
— Did you expect to go into the winter break with a ten-point lead over the current champion?
— Honestly, we didn’t expect such a lead, but you can say it’s just the beginning. When I was at "Dnipro-1", we also had a lead, maybe not as big, but still, everything is decided in the second half of the season.
— Last week you became a father for the second time, so you had double motivation?
— Yes, I became a father again. Incredible feelings. Now I will try to please my two little sons with my game.
— So, it turns out you have a male collective in your family?
— If we talk about my own family, then yes. But in general, I have a sister, mom, wife, so I can’t say that there are only men in the family.
— What are the team's plans for the winter break?
— We will have a little more than two weeks of rest, after which we will go for training on January 5.
— How do you plan to spend the vacation and how will you celebrate the New Year and Christmas?
— I will be in Kyiv with my family, with a small child, and I don’t plan to go anywhere. But I know that some guys are planning to go to Lviv or Bukovel.
Oleksandr Pihalyonok. Photo — Yu. Yurieyev
