The head coach of Ternopil "Niva" Yurii Virt shared his impressions of yesterday’s matches of our teams in European competitions:
Yurii Virt
— "Shakhtar" caught a thrill already in the first match of the Europa League qualifiers and yesterday, as they say, easily outclassed "Beşiktaş" again. I did not notice how the Turkish club intended to bring back the intrigue after a home loss. The advantage of the "miners" was felt in all components.
— Then clarify, what should the Istanbul team have done to achieve a breakthrough?
— They should have tried to score an early goal, press aggressively, and act much more aggressively in attack. It seemed that the guests were mainly relying on the individual skill of their leaders, but that does not work against the "miners". Moreover, "Shakhtar" has improved in defense, organizing their protection much better. What should the Donetsk team pay attention to? To the realization, as they are wasting many goal-scoring chances so far. And the opponents will become serious.
— In your opinion, were the results of the matches involving our teams in the Conference League qualifiers fair?
— I think so. "Polissia" confidently outclassed FC "Santa Coloma", proving that last week’s loss was a fluke. In Slovakia, the players were not properly motivated, whereas in Andorra, everyone was maximally focused and everything quickly fell into place. However, conclusions must definitely be made from that sensational defeat in the first match, as the performance of the Polissians still does not leave a complete impression.
Unfortunately, "Oleksandriia" disappointed again, as they failed to put up a fight against the young players of "Partizan".
— But after the final whistle in Belgrade, the manager of the "city" team, Kyrylo Nesterenko, criticized the referee, who unjustifiably sent off the guest defender in the opening minutes, breaking the game for his team.
— These are all emotions; Nesterenko had to explain the failure somehow. I believe the red card was justified, and after conceding a goal in the debut, the "city" players were already doomed. They are to blame themselves because they should have scored in the first match. In football, the main thing is goals.
— How do you assess the chances of "Dynamo" in the Champions League qualifiers, "Shakhtar" in the Europa League, and "Polissia" in the Conference League to progress further?
— Quite high. Moreover, our teams are improving with each match.
Andrii Pysarenko
