On Wednesday, October 29, in the 1/8 final match of the Ukrainian Cup, Kyiv «Dynamo» defeated Donetsk «Shakhtar» with a score of 2:1 and advanced to the 1/4 finals of the tournament. The match took place in Kyiv at the «Dynamo» Stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi. Here is the post-match press conference of the guest team’s head coach, Arda Turan.
Arda Turan. Photo — Y. Yuriev— First of all, I congratulate «Dynamo» on their victory in this intense encounter. I hope that in the near future, we can hold such matches in the presence of 40,000 fans (or even more) in Ukrainian stadiums.
I believe that the first 15 minutes of the match were incredible on our part. I am completely satisfied with how the team executed the game plan during this period. Perhaps if the players had chosen better shoes for such a pitch, they might have managed those moments better.
Regarding the second half, under the opponents' pressure, we lost concentration a bit. In football, it happens that if you often allow the opponent to create chances, they will seize one sooner or later. On the other hand, we were unable to convert our numerous chances.
I’m very disappointed. But these emotions need to be left behind, and we must move forward to the next match.
As for the last 15 minutes of the match, I will have a separate discussion with the team in a challenging format.
— Why couldn’t you press the opponent when all the prerequisites were there?
— First of all, I would like to say that today’s level of refereeing was very high. The referees did their job very well. Yes, we may sometimes criticize the referees, disagree with them in certain moments, but today I am completely satisfied with the refereeing and would like to thank the referees.
Regarding your question, football is about creating chances. I wouldn’t say that a loss of concentration hindered us—it was more a lack of experience. When you play against an opponent like Kyiv «Dynamo,» you face the pressure of the stands, and today we couldn’t fully cope with it.
Today we gained wonderful experience, but I would prefer to gain it through victory, not through painful defeat like today.
— Until the goal, your team dominated, but as soon as you scored, the initiative was handed to the opponent. Was this your directive, or did the team decide this on their own?
— We always strive to build our game through ball dominance and a large number of goal-scoring chances. Unfortunately, today, in this sense, we couldn’t fully execute our game plan. The opponent was better in one-on-one and physical duels. Of course, we will analyze and try to draw positive conclusions.
Completely agree with you: the segment of the match you mentioned concerns me greatly and prompts a thorough analysis.
— In recent matches, «Shakhtar» has not been converting a large number of goal-scoring opportunities. How much is this a consequence of the departure of Sudakov and Kevin?
— They are incredible performers, but it’s time to leave this period of life behind. We have a group of young, talented players with great potential in the team. But they don’t have enough experience yet, as was evident today. Such experience is gained through both victories and defeats.
Yes, I agree, we lack efficiency, and we are working on this issue. I hope the guys will draw the right conclusions and improve this aspect of our game.
Post-match press conference of «Dynamo» head coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi.
Oleksandr POPOV from «Dynamo» Stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi
