On Wednesday, September 17, in the match of the 1/16 finals of the Ukrainian Cup, Kyiv’s «Dynamo» defeated «Alexandria» with a score of 2:1 and advanced to the 1/8 finals of the tournament. The game took place in Alexandria at the «Nika» stadium. Below is the post-match press conference of the head coach of the «city team» Kirill Nesterensko.
Kirill Nesterенко. Photo — A. Popov— A very difficult match for us, emotional. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal in the first half. It was very challenging, and thanks to the guys for withstanding the pressure from «Dynamo». Then we managed to turn the game around; we started to better control the ball and transition from defense to attack. Because of this, we were able to apply pressure on «Dynamo». We equalized the score and had the opportunity to take the lead, but unfortunately, we couldn’t do that.
At the end of the match, we conceded the second goal. I feel very sorry for the guys; they gave their all and did everything possible to achieve success, which was the task for the team today.
— What was the most difficult for your team today?
— Kyiv’s «Dynamo» does not need an introduction; you know what kind of pressure this team can exert. «Dynamo» came very charged for today’s game — after the setback against «Obolon» (2:2, — ed.) in the last round of the UPL. We saw this; we saw that today the Dynamo players entered the match with a completely different mindset. And we found ourselves under very great pressure. «Dynamo» pressed well, and we couldn’t escape from this pressure. But later on, we managed to put pressure on the opponent through ball control and quick attacks. This way, we managed to score a goal.
— What was lacking to maintain the draw?
— Experience. We knew and told the guys that in the last 5−10 minutes there should be maximum concentration: «Dynamo» is that team which knows how to pull out such matches and score at the end of the game. We talked and talked, but we couldn’t realize that.
But you saw what a goal «Dynamo» scored — it was perfect mastery at a very high level.
Post-match press conference of the head coach of «Dynamo» Alexander Shovkovsky.
Alexander POPOV from Alexandria
