The head coach of «Dynamo» Oleksandr Shovkovsky commented on the team’s victory over «Rukh» in the 22nd round of the Ukrainian championship on UPL.TV.
Oleksandr Shovkovsky— Mr. Oleksandr, it seemed that your team played practically an ideal first half?
— First of all, I would like to congratulate the fans on an important victory over a very difficult opponent, who always plays aggressive football. «Rukh» has scored goals even when they lost previous matches. Secondly, it wasn’t easy for us, as many players were involved with their national teams. We gathered only on March 26 and had a full training session.
It was very important to set the players up psychologically, and we managed to execute the moments we worked on. In principle, it can be said that I am satisfied with the game. There are always mistakes, but I am satisfied with the players' actions.
— During the second half, was your team already thinking about the cup match?
— «Rukh» simply started to play even more aggressively, as they were dissatisfied with their performance in the first half. Therefore, we made substitutions to improve our game in the center of the field. We had wonderful opportunities in the second half to score and increase our lead.
— Brazhko did not enter the field today. Could you please give him an assessment?
— Why should I give him an assessment? Brazhko is a player of «Dynamo», who was ready to go on the field, but I decided to put Mykola Mykhailenko in. Did he have a bad game? We have healthy competition. Volodymyr will still have chances to play. Moreover, in the youth national team, he played one full match and one half in another match. He only had his first training session on March 27, plus there was also travel. Everything is fine.
— What about Popov? Did he get injured?
— By the way, if he hadn’t got injured and there wasn't a forced substitution, we would have seen Brazhko on the field.
