– Any victory is important – both for the team and for Ukraine. First of all, I would like to thank all the fans for their support at the stadium and those who watched the match on TV. I also thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the opportunity to represent our country on the international stage.
What can I say about victory? I am satisfied, as is the whole team. Today we will think a little more about this game, but tomorrow we will begin immediate preparation for the championship match, because we have a very important match with LNZ ahead of us – as, in fact, every match. Today we can rejoice a little, and tomorrow we will already work.
– In your opinion, did you succeed on the field today, considering that from the first minute, from the beginning of the half, the team acted actively and scored the ball?
– Yes, thank God, we managed everything. They could have scored more, but the main thing is that they won, did not concede a single goal and scored six. Everyone is satisfied, but, I repeat, starting tomorrow we will be preparing for the next championship match.
– With what setup did you go into the second half with a score of 1:0? What helped to score three goals at the beginning of the second half?
– The setting was not to lose momentum, not to reduce the tempo, not to sit on the defensive, not to withdraw to our own half of the field and at the same time continue to play our football, as in the first half. We went out with the motivation to score more, and we didn’t stop. Fortunately, they scored as many as 5 times in the second half. So, again, the result is good.
– You played again in the position of the left defender, is it already familiar to you, or have you completely mastered it?
– I have said before that there is no difference for me – to play on the left or in the center of defense, because I played both there and there. Of course, more used to being a central defender, but, I repeat, it does not matter.
– You connect to the attack during the set pieces and come to serve corners – just like when you played in the center. Today, “Dynamo” scored two goals after standard regulation. How much do you work on it and how much do you feel it is succeeding and paying off?
– We often practice standard positions in training. This is now a very important component of modern football in the world. We spend a lot of time on it, and we also work on tactical actions on the field in general. And it definitely pays off.
– Does it feel that the team has returned to the winning path after a not-so-successful series and gained optimal form?
– I will not say that this is already peak form. Yes, we’ve had bad results – we’re aware of that. There was also criticism, which we understood and accepted calmly, because we were really going through a difficult period. The team did not deserve such hate. But, of course, every player and every coach of our staff wants to win. Therefore, maybe after this game we will be able to reach the “white streak”.
Source: sport.ua