Former forward of Kyiv's Dynamo Artem Milevsky shared his impressions of the final match of the Ukrainian Cup between Shakhtar and Dynamo.
— Artem, what do you say about the game?
— At first, the mood was wow, but then confusion and misunderstanding. Shakhtar scored almost from the first shot on goal. I can hardly remember anything like that. Dynamo completely controlled the game, was very focused and composed.
Even at the beginning of the second half, I was sure that Kyiv would calmly "close" this game and it would be somewhere around 2:0. But Shakhtar just got lucky to score a random goal. I see how Shakhtar celebrates after the victory — everyone in glasses, à la Yamal. But Dynamo looked a head stronger.
Today Shakhtar won the Cup, and on the weekend Dynamo will become champions.
— What do you think about the penalty shootout?
— It's a lottery, any team could win. Of course, Karavaev is upset, but penalties... I also sometimes missed them. You need to go through this and move on.
— What do you think Dynamo lacked to secure the victory?
— In my time, no one would change the team leaders in such an important game, no matter how difficult it was — neither Belkevich, nor Khatskevich, nor Rinkon, nor Shatskikh, nor Rebrov. And here they replaced Yarmolenko, Bulyalsky, Shaparenko. I didn't quite understand Shovkovsky's decision. Leaders should never be changed because opponents fear them.
— Who would you name as the best player of the match?
— Of course, it's Yarmolenko. He scored his seventh goal against Shakhtar in his career. I have eight goals against the miners, so I wish Andryukha to break my record. I am very happy for him that he scores in such important matches. He had a very good game and, taking this opportunity, I send him a big hello.
In Shakhtar, I really liked the "30th" number Alisson, as well as Elias, for whom they paid 17 million. This means that Dario Srna and the guys know who to buy (laughs, — note A.P.). They created the goal out of nothing. It means the money wasn't thrown to the wind.
— Yarmolenko has 11 goals left to break Shatskikh's record in the UPL. Do you think he will succeed?
— I spoke with Andryukha when we saw each other, and he said to me: "Toma, if my health allows, I will continue to play as long as I can. I love football very much." I am convinced that if he has health, he will break the record.
— You played a lot against Shakhtar. Tell us how you celebrated victories over the miners?
— We always celebrated victories over Shakhtar at a karaoke bar with the team.
— What did you sing there?
— We didn't sing, we just celebrated. The matches usually ended in the evening and after such nerve-wracking games it was hard to fall asleep, so we went to the karaoke bar to celebrate and relieve the tension.
— Where did you watch today's Cup final?
— Finally went out with friends and my girl to a pub in downtown Kyiv. We watched football in good company, haven't gathered together for a long time. I'll just say: Los Solomos. Those in the know will understand.
Andriy Piskun