Midfielder Valentyn Rubchynskyi of Dynamo Kyiv commented on his team’s crushing defeat by Turkish Samsunspor (0:3).
— How does it feel to return to the field after such a long break?
— Well, it was a bit difficult because I hadn’t played for a long time. It was nice to be back, but it was a bit hard. Towards the end, I got a bit tired because I hadn’t played at such speeds for a long time, so it was a bit hard towards the end.
— Today Samsunspor played quite organized. Did that prevent you from being sharp in attack?
— The quick goal had a big impact. The opposing team retreated a bit after that and it was hard for us.
— Did Karavayev’s missed opportunity influence the team in any way?
— Of course, it was a good moment when the score was 1:0. As they say, we didn’t capitalize... We should have been a bit better at executing our chances.
— You took quite a long time to come out of the dressing room, what did Shovkovsky say?
— We just had talks among the team, with the coach, we listened to what he told us. We’ll keep it in the dressing room.
— In the first half, there was good activity in attack, especially from the wingers. After the break, it was absent. What was the reason?
— We wanted to equalize. We talked at halftime that we could do it. The first half was, I think, even. We wanted to, but somehow it didn’t work out. I don’t know why.
— Did Samsunspor surprise you in any way today?
— Very good team, with fast flanks. We knew that. Samsunspor capitalized on their chance through their flanks.
— How did you react to Tiare’s mistake in the situation with the first goal? Did you support him?
— We supported him, of course. Everyone makes mistakes. Of course, to concede in the first minutes that goal... But I won’t say he’s to blame for the defeat in this game.