Midfielder of Kyiv "Dynamo" Vladislav Kabaev summarized the results of yesterday’s match against Lviv "Rukh" (2:0) in the 22nd round of the Ukrainian championship on the YouTube channel "Football Hub".
— We studied "Rukh", prepared. There was a lot of theory, a lot of motivating accents from the coach, which we lacked in recent games. We understood that we could not afford to lose points anymore, there were too many losses lately. And we remembered that "Rukh" took points from us at home (0:0, — ed. note). I think it was clear: we came out hungry for football — and that is a big plus.
I have already said this: we need to approach every match like this, not just play 2-3 times, win and relax — that’s not acceptable. And, by the way, today after halftime, I think we calmed down again, played according to the score, it became more about psychology. And we needed to score the third, fourth.
— After the draw with "Zoria" (2:2), Shovkovskiy spoke very categorically, making it clear that the team has a problem with the mental aspect. Were there any discussions during the break for the national team matches?
— Our coach is young, and he has a lot of dialogues with the players. It doesn’t matter if it’s a young or more experienced player. In this regard, everything is good.
I can’t say that someone was called out separately, but in the theoretical sessions, the direction was clearly seen: to reach not just one or two players but to all of us, so we are as one fist, that we are all together, so we came out and proved it.
And we discussed this within the team; a lot was said in a circle before the starting whistle in the match against "Rukh". I think from the first minute, you could see our motivational charge. We need to build on that positivity to play like this every match, not just in certain moments.
— The next match for "Dynamo" is also against "Rukh", in the 1/4 final of the Ukrainian Cup. How do your coaching staff and you view this match?
— I don’t know how the coaching staff sees it; we haven’t discussed it yet. But I don’t see any problems with having two matches in a row against "Rukh". This is an interesting team that applies high pressing, plays boldly one-on-one. This is interesting because the team plays football and doesn’t just sit back.
It’s hard to play when the opponent doesn’t play football, just looking for a draw with "Dynamo", and that’s it — great. But in "Rukh", everyone is young, everyone is trying to win. That’s a big plus; I told the guys from "Rukh" that they are doing a great job.
We will analyze our mistakes — both team and in our game structure, and individually. There is room for improvement. I won’t say we played exceptionally today. Yes, there’s a result, but every day we need to grow and improve (both for the team and the young coaching staff) to achieve some high goals. I think everyone understands this.
— Vanat is currently leading the scoring race in the Ukrainian championship with 13 goals, but Buialskyi already has 6 goals and 6 assists. Your comment?
— To be honest, we haven’t discussed that Vanat is the top scorer. Of course, we want him to be by the end of the championship; he deserves it.
Buialskyi? He’s a different format of player. He scores a lot and gives a lot. But just because of what he does on the field, even if he doesn’t score, there’s a feeling that he has eyes on the back of his head and sees 360 degrees. I and many young ones need to learn this from him.
I am very happy that our team won and the guys are scoring, but I am a little disappointed that I am not scoring myself. That brings me sadness. So I need to work, and I hope everything will be fine.