Midfielder of Kyiv’s «Dynamo» Oleksandr Pikhaliyonok summed up yesterday’s match of his team against Kryvbass Kryvyi Rih (4:0) in the 10th round of the Ukrainian championship, where he scored a penalty, in an interview on the YouTube channel «Profootball Digital».
Oleksandr Pikhaliyonok— Today we came out very charged for the game because we really needed a victory. I really hope that we will continue to play like we did today. Today we fought for each other, for every ball, so I believe the result is natural.
Where was this before? There are such periods when it doesn’t work out. I hope we have stepped on the steps we were on before. But so far, we have only won the first match in a very long period. Ahead is a very tough schedule. We will prepare for the next matches.
— When the score became 1:0, fans said that «Dynamo» would retreat again. What was your mood at that moment in the match?
— I know why this question arises: in past matches, we retreated and conceded. But today it wasn’t like that. Today we pressed high, one on one, and tried to play like that for almost all 90 minutes.
— Today you won a lot of battles in the midfield. Was it an individual or a team task?
— Both an individual and a team task. The head coach said we need to play tighter in the midfield. Today I played a bit lower than usual, but if the team needs it, I will run and take the balls—I’ll do everything for the victory.
— Tell us about the idea with Yarmolenko as a center forward. Have you been practicing this in training for a long time?
— To be honest, it was very interesting to play with him as a center forward. Andriy is a very qualified player, and we know how he plays as a center forward: he adjusts to the balls, opens up both behind the defense and under the ball. It’s very easy to play with him.
And as for when this idea arose, that’s not a question for me. (Laughs). But of course, we practiced it in training: from time to time Andriy Mykolayovych played as a center forward.
— In these circumstances, is your partnership with Yarmolenko similar to your partnership with Dovbyk in «Dnipro-1»?
— Both Dovbyk and Yarmolenko are very qualified players, and it’s very easy to play with them: they think like top players. So it’s very interesting to play with them and easy to adjust to them. But this is only the first match with such a formation—let’s see how it goes.
— After the Conference League match, your team could have been tired, but they kept going for 80, 85, maybe even 90 minutes...
— Well, listen, in this schedule and conditions, a team cannot play all matches at a very high pace. Sometimes there are matches where you prepared and prepared, but you come out and see that the team is not that they’re not ready, it’s just such a day. It happens. It’s good that today everyone was charged, had the strength to run, and everything was there.
But once again I’ll say: we need to be cautious because the next matches are very important. Matches with «Shakhtar» in the Cup, in the championship, and then another European Cup match. Finally, there will be a match with LNZ. We have a very tough schedule. We’ll keep preparing.
— What happened in the match with «Samsunspor»?
— We conceded a very early goal, but we played well in the segment between the first and second goals. If we had capitalized on our chance, I don’t know how the game would have turned. But we didn’t capitalize on our chance, then conceded the second and third and «fell apart.» In Turkey, after 0:3, it’s very hard to come back. Unfortunately, that’s how the match turned out for us. We’ll prepare for the next matches, and hopefully, everything will be fine.
— You have two upcoming matches with «Shakhtar,» which is copying «Dynamo» in terms of squad rotation for European competitions. Did you notice this?
— Now is such a time that with all our travel, there’s no way without rotation. It’s very hard. And «Shakhtar» understands this, and we understand it. So it will be an interesting confrontation, a derby.
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