Midfielder of Kyiv's Dynamo Vladislav Kabayev commented on the loss to Pafos in the first match of the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League during a broadcast on the club's TV channel.
Vladislav Kabayev— It's disappointing to lose by one goal when the game was level. You came out for the second half after suffering an injury, and you were substituted in the game against "Veres." Tell us about your recovery and analyze the game a bit.
— As for me, I had a bruise, I hadn't trained in the last few days, and the coach opted for that tactic. There were many moments in the first half, so everything was correct. I will do everything to start in the next games. Regarding the game, we didn't score in the first half, and in the final minutes, we conceded. Of course, there is a lot to work on, there is room to grow. We know what we need to work on. This is not the quality of play we can demonstrate. But there is a second game. It's not that serious. I don't want to talk about this team, but they are all quite experienced, 28-29 years old, but they played well, effectively.
It's very unpleasant to lose at home. There were moments where if we had scored, we could have played more calmly. I came on when there was little time left in the match, it was already more chaotic, but hasty. And they played well defensively, yes, it was frustrating, they blocked well, but that's European football, which we are not used to. They don't play like that in Ukraine. So in training, we need to work on that, we need to be bolder, craftier, and unpleasant for the opponent. I believe we lacked that a little today. I can say for myself that I lacked that. There is still much to work on.
— Dynamo has played three matches against teams from the Cyprus league and hasn't won any of them. Again, what is the problem?
— Now I will say something, and then the journalists will dissect my words. Everyone wants to win, and we want to beat everyone: on every inch of the field, in Ukraine, and in Europe. We have the desire, but there is still a lot of work to do. "Pafos" is a good team. But I don't want to look at who we are playing against and justify ourselves before anyone. Let's look in the mirror and say: if we had scored those moments, I wouldn't be here with such a pale face, but I would be happy and telling how everything is good. But when you lose, the result comes first, and we didn't earn any points. But I will say there is a second game, and we need to prepare better for it. Everything is in our hands. 1:0, it's not that serious. It was just the first half.
— At the end of the match, Oleksandr Shovkovskyi was giving you some advice on the flank. What exactly did he say?
— Well, he said to close the far post, but I didn't get there because… well, that's my problem. There can be no excuses here. I say they play very tightly and block well. In Ukraine, we don't play like that. Our referees don't allow it, but here the referees do. And it's not that we are not used to it; we just need to be craftier about it. I should have pushed him forward a bit, but I ran straight, and he blocked me. And I lacked those half meters to score. That's how it is. There we lacked a little, there the ball hit the post, there someone didn't score, there someone didn't run. And that's why the result is like this. Football consists of little details, moments.
