Dohadailo: Our pace was slower
Sunday, October 23, 2016
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Press conference of Zirka’s assistant head coach after the game against the Pitmen
- We perfectly understood who we were playing. We prepared thoroughly. We analysed all our pros and cons in the game against Vorskla and analysed our performance against Shakhtar. We clearly knew that it was necessary not to allow the opponents to play down the wings. We tried and apparently succeeded. The wings represented by Butko and Ismaily were not that active today. As for midfield... In the first half we tried not to concede those through balls, but one still penetrated our defence, and the young debutant Boriachuk scored a goal. In the second half, our losing Kovalyov affected it, with us not changing our game. But this is an invaluable experience for us to gain. We played against the well-performing team: this Thursday, we all saw what Shakhtar are like. The opponents were undergoing the scheduled rotation, so we were ready for the emergence of new players. However, we failed to survive, being unhappy with the outcome. We will analyse it, draw some conclusions and adopt all the positive things from the meeting. Still, the guys have guts. They showed dedication and some good tactical things. Most importantly, we know how intense the Pitmen’s operation is. We tried to build some counter-intense game, which did not quite work- our pace was lower for our opponents to claim the win. We will analyse it and prepare for the next, no less important match against Zorya Luhansk.
- What happened to Kovalyov?
- Preliminarily? Thank God, no kneecap fracture. But something is wrong with the ligaments. Currently, he is undergoing MRT, we are waiting for that. Most probably, that’s a serious ligament sprain. We lost Kovalyov, though a group of players is missing. Plus Moya earned his fourth card. Let us think about who and how we will prepare for the next match, because no one has cancelled the set objectives.
- There was much whistling and many cards. How did such a tough game affect the match and the result in general?
- We are glad that the players prove their character. We don’t discuss the refereeing. There are people who will assess the ref. We do not need any sympathy. The guys tried hard and fought in every episode. We played as we played, but we don’t want to discuss the ref’s actions.
- You have mentioned rotation. And yet, did Boriachuk’s appearance in the starting lineup surprise you? Perhaps the guys were not quick enough due to Shakhtar’s great pace?
- I want to tell you more, we made a rapid analysis – we consulted Pavlo Polehenko, who played with him for the national team. We understood that there was a young, talented player, and we’ve seen him in action. We knew that his speed was explosive, his dribbling fast, that he converts his chances. This did not surprise us. On the other hand, we are really delighted at the debut of such a young player. Let him move forward. Shakhtar have some talented young people – we wish them only good way! But we must also counteract such players.
- What happened to Kovalyov?
- Preliminarily? Thank God, no kneecap fracture. But something is wrong with the ligaments. Currently, he is undergoing MRT, we are waiting for that. Most probably, that’s a serious ligament sprain. We lost Kovalyov, though a group of players is missing. Plus Moya earned his fourth card. Let us think about who and how we will prepare for the next match, because no one has cancelled the set objectives.
- There was much whistling and many cards. How did such a tough game affect the match and the result in general?
- We are glad that the players prove their character. We don’t discuss the refereeing. There are people who will assess the ref. We do not need any sympathy. The guys tried hard and fought in every episode. We played as we played, but we don’t want to discuss the ref’s actions.
- You have mentioned rotation. And yet, did Boriachuk’s appearance in the starting lineup surprise you? Perhaps the guys were not quick enough due to Shakhtar’s great pace?
- I want to tell you more, we made a rapid analysis – we consulted Pavlo Polehenko, who played with him for the national team. We understood that there was a young, talented player, and we’ve seen him in action. We knew that his speed was explosive, his dribbling fast, that he converts his chances. This did not surprise us. On the other hand, we are really delighted at the debut of such a young player. Let him move forward. Shakhtar have some talented young people – we wish them only good way! But we must also counteract such players.