The senior coach of «Dynamo U-19» Ihor Kostiuk commented on his team's victory over Lviv's «Karpaty U-19» in a home match of the youth championship with a score of 2:0.
— After the winter break, it was important to take three points. I am not satisfied with the quality of the game, but with the result — yes, because we have won. We will analyze, talk to the players, because it is impossible to approach the game like this, to go out with such a mood, with such aggression, and to show such quality.
— Did the fact that the match was played on artificial turf, not on natural grass, affect the game?
— The field here is not fast, but slow. It does not provide the speeds we would like to see. The quality of the game, the positioning, how we entered the selection, how we reorganized — all this leaves much to be desired.
— In the first round, you defeated «Karpaty» 2:0, now again 2:0. Considering that the Lviv team is in third place in the standings, is this a significant confrontation?
— We know that the «Karpaty» school always has quality graduates. They play aggressively, handle the ball well, and fight well. We were not at our best today, I do not understand why. We will think, maybe it is due to adaptation, or maybe after the UEFA Youth League, everyone has not yet managed to reorganize. I think that in the next game we will try to reorganize a bit differently, play more aggressively and better.
— Comment on Matviy Ponomarenko's double. When he scored the second goal, everyone was screaming at him to pass, but he went for it solo. How do you evaluate his actions?
— This is more of an exception than the rule, but it is good that he scored. Both the first and the second goals decided the fate of today’s victory, because at a score of 2:0 it was easier to play.
— Have you already left the match with «Atalanta» in the past? Have you completely reshaped for the championship?
— You saw today how we reshaped. Unfortunately, this is not the quality, not the emotions needed for victories. Yes, this was the first match after the winter break, and I reiterate, today the most important thing was to gain three points. As for the quality of the game, this is already our question that we will discuss and improve.
— What is the situation with the injured players? Who can be expected to return and when?
— Ishchenko and Dykyi will still be wearing splints for a week, then there will be a check-up which will help us understand when they will return to action. Ivan Andreiko, unfortunately, is going to Spain for an operation on his cruciate ligaments. It is scheduled for Thursday in Barcelona. After such operations, the approximate recovery time is about 4 months. After that, we hope he can start working on the field. The rest of the players have gradually returned.
— There are 12 rounds left until the end of the youth championship, and «Dynamo» is in the role of the pursuer. How do you motivate the guys that they can no longer afford to lose points?
— We talk to them, explain that each game is primarily an opportunity for them to grow. It is important how they prepare for each specific game, how they come out, what attitude they play with, and what they can take from these encounters. The outcome and championship depend on that. If they come out for each game motivated, they will grow both individually and as a team. That will reflect in the results. Moreover, we have a direct encounter coming up with «Shakhtar». We hope that during these 12 rounds they might stumble and lose points.
— Last season, «Dynamo U-19» became the champion. How much harder is it to defend this title than to win it?
— We know how the opponents prepare to play against «Dynamo», with what attitude they come to play against us, and we saw this today too. A simple example is Lyubomyr Kuzyk: when he was in «Dynamo», he never made tackles. But today he was all over the place— he was diving while playing. This is the answer to how opponents prepare to play against «Dynamo».