On Thursday, January 30, in the match of the final, 8th round of the main stage of the Europa League, Kyiv’s “Dynamo” defeated the Latvian RFSH with a score of 1:0. The match took place in Hamburg. Here is the post-match press conference of RFSH head coach Viktor Moroz.
Viktor Moroz— We did everything possible today. It was very difficult to play. And it was very hard to prepare for these two January matches in the Europa League against such strong teams (“Ajax” and “Dynamo,” — ed.) that followed one after the other. But, I repeat, our players did everything they could on the field today.
As for the course of the match itself, today’s match was very important for “Dynamo,” and we understood that. Therefore, the opponent was very active on the field from the very beginning of the game, showing a very high-quality game in defense.
But we also showed a number of good counter-attacks today. And I want to give a big compliment to our defense: we did not allow “Dynamo” to create anything at our goal. Everything was decided by one moment when we lost concentration. But I still want to say a big thank you to my players for their efforts. It was not easy to resist such strong footballers that make up the “Dynamo” roster.
I am glad that we showed ourselves to be competitive at this level, at the level of the Europa League. We proved that many people were wrong when before the tournament began they placed us in the last place without points and goals. We showed character, showed that we can compete with high-level teams, with clubs that have large budgets. And I am glad and proud of my players for what they did.
— Do you think you would have played better if this match had taken place in September?
— I don’t know. After all, “Dynamo” would also have been in better shape, in better physical condition then. So, we cannot say anything with 100% certainty here.
— What accounted for “Dynamo”’s victory?
— The team as a whole played very well; its players quickly changed their positions. But we also had chances to score a goal. Unfortunately, we did not take advantage of them. I cannot, of course, say that we showed our best game today, but the match was interesting from the first to the last minute. Including, thanks to the fans: although there were only a few of them in the stands today, they still managed to create an excellent atmosphere.
Alexander POPOV
Text reproduction — Dynamo.kiev.ua, when using the material hyperlink is mandatory!
