On Friday, August 8, in the match of the 2nd round of the Ukrainian championship, Kyiv’s Dynamo defeated Lviv’s Rukh with a score of 5:1. The match took place in Lviv at the Ukraine stadium. Here is the post-match press conference of the head coach of the capital team, Oleksandr Shovkovskiy.
– I congratulate Dynamo fans on an important victory. I want to say right away that, taking into account the last game and the next game, we have made a certain rotation. And I am satisfied with the attitude of those guys who took the field today: they all understood perfectly that when the opportunity arises to start in the starting lineup, they must back it up with their actions and attitude. Everyone should be ready for this.
We have to work in such a busy schedule that game time will be available for all players. The team always wins. But the team also loses. And everyone must be ready in their professional attitude, in their recovery, in absolutely everything. When the chance arises, they must take it. As for me, I have a headache figuring out who to put in the starting lineup.
I am very happy for Yatsyk, for Bragary, and for Buyalskiy, who had an injury and who recently joined the team. Similarly, Guerrero made his debut: he played well for the team and had an excellent match. Unfortunately, he didn’t score. He will score, I am sure of that. But this is precisely the attitude that players of Dynamo (Kyiv) should have.
Oleksandr Shovkovskiy. Photo — A. Popov– Is there a psychological factor in today’s victory, considering the defeat to Paphos?
– Teams that set big goals for themselves must quickly recover after both victories and defeats. Yes, it hurts a lot after defeats. Sometimes it gnaws at you so that you can do nothing about it. But there is already the next game. The past must be analyzed and conclusions drawn, not lived in it.
Yes, we lost the first match to Paphos, but we have every opportunity to win the return match. Today we proved that with our desire, determination, and actions on the football field. Of course, this victory will give us confidence. But we must wisely take to the field and do what we agreed upon.
– Today the referee did not show a single yellow card...
– Our matches with Rukh have always been fundamental, with a large number of confrontations. Indeed, today the players behaved more or less correctly towards each other, showing respect for the opponents. But if you are interested, you can see which team was the most correct in the previous season...
– After today’s victory, do you have more questions about the starting lineup for the return match with Paphos?
– Today’s game is only today’s game. We will undoubtedly analyze it, review all the necessary materials to analyze the actions of each player separately. But the team wins and loses. We will consider many factors when determining the squad for the next game.
But first of all, if there is no passion, no ambition, it is better not to take the field. I liked the team’s attitude today. As for who will play in the next match... We have recovery and training processes ahead. We’ll see.
– Was Rukh not ready today, or was Dynamo just that strong?
– Matches unfold differently. Sometimes you have a lot of opportunities, but you can’t convert them. And sometimes everything that can go in does go in. Rukh is an ambitious team, but it has undergone many changes. This must also be understood.
But let’s talk about the fact that I am satisfied with our team’s performance, the attitude, and the understanding of the players. There are no mistakes without errors, sometimes errors decide everything. Especially when you rise to a higher level—that is what becomes decisive. So we need to prepare. In the training process, we must fight, first and foremost, with ourselves. When you rise to a higher level, everything happens faster, there’s less time to make decisions and less space. And to be ready, one must set tasks for oneself in the training process: strive to do everything as quickly as possible. Only in this way can we progress and tackle the highest goals.
Once again, I congratulate all Dynamo fans on the victory. I wish you all a good, calm evening and night. Glory to Ukraine!
Expect the post-match press conference of the head coach of Rukh, Ivan Fedyk, in the coming minutes...
Oleksandr POPOV from Lviv
