On Saturday, September 27, in the match of the 7th round of the Ukrainian championship, Kyiv “Dynamo” played to a 3:3 draw against Lviv’s “Karpaty.” The match took place in Lviv at the “Ukraine” stadium. Here is the post-match press conference of the home team’s head coach, Vladislav Lypashko.
Vladislav Lypashko. Photo — A. Popov— If you compare today’s match with your team’s match against “Shakhtar” (3:3), doesn’t it feel like some sort of déjà vu?
— I wouldn’t say so. It was more difficult for us to build attacks against “Shakhtar,” and we didn’t have as many chances as today. Moreover, we were coming from behind then, but today we led and should have increased the score. When it was 2:0, we were closer to the third goal than “Dynamo” was to their first. That was a great phase of the match; we could have increased our lead. In the end, just before halftime, we conceded that goal from a set piece. But I must admit, it was a very well-executed play by “Dynamo.”
If someone had asked me if I would accept a 3:3 if it were 2:0 at halftime, I wouldn’t have agreed to it at all. Football is such that if you score the first, you have to chase the second; if you score the second, you have to chase the third. Then it will be dynamic and interesting. We didn’t score the third goal, but I’m sure that if we play as we did today, it will lead to exciting games and bright results.
— Could you comment on the first minutes of the second half? Your team didn’t come onto the field?
— The quality of “Dynamo” players is very high. It’s incredible, and when you play against them once every six months, you can see it. “Dynamo” creates chances very easily. Therefore, we must push the game away from our goal. Because when they are in the opponent’s penalty area, you can see what happens. They manage very well in tight spaces. But our players looked very, very respectable against such an opponent.
I think you saw that in the first half we had more possession than “Dynamo,” cut off the opponent, played between the lines, created chances. Playing this way against “Dynamo” and achieving a result is quite different from when “Dynamo” has 70% ball possession, and you’re hoping for something in counterattacks.
— Why did your team stop at 2:0?
— Did you see our chances when it was 2:0? Did we really stop? Everyone wanted to score again. But “Dynamo” hasn’t lost in the Ukrainian championship for a year and a half. However, today they should have lost; I’m 100% sure of it.
But, I repeat, this “Dynamo” has an incredibly strong team at the level of the Ukrainian championship. And the fact that they can’t show results in European competitions shouldn’t diminish the difficulty of all the travel they have to do. You can’t imagine how hard it is to build a training process in such conditions and how hard it is for players to maintain their form.
— What did you think when the score became 2:3?
— About the need to score the third goal.
— Did “Karpaty” gain one point or lose two today?
— Considering how the match unfolded, we lost two points. But considering that we scored the third goal in the last minutes of the match, we gained one point. Rhetorical question, rhetorical answer.
— Were you surprised by “Dynamo”'s lineup?
— I can say that this lineup showed stronger defensive performance during set pieces. Overall, I don’t think that replacing 1−2 players can weaken “Dynamo”'s roster. The lineup of Kyivans that came out today is strong and motivated.
— What needs to be done so that your team’s mindset is not only for the grand teams?
— There can’t be a division between “Dynamo” and “Obolon.” A professional footballer should be focused every day. We need to be this way with any opponent. That’s how we set up the team. And anyone who can’t handle this will be dealt with via rotation.
Post-match press conference of “Dynamo” head coach Alexander Shovkovskiy.
Oleksandr POPOV from Lviv
