We’re pleased with play and result
Saturday, February 23, 2019
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Shakhtar U19 head coach Andres Carrasco reflects on the game vs Arsenal-Kyiv (6-1)
- We are doubly pleased because both the play and the result have been great. But the most important thing is the quality of football performed by our team. This was a postponed game, which had been impossible to hold in the autumn, bringing us the points we were obliged to claim.
- It seems that you didn’t have a long winter break: everyone is in great shape, displaying a high pace, dynamic play ...
- To be honest, that’s right. We are fortunate that the club decided on our trip to Turkey in the winter. 16 days there helped us a lot. The guys have worked really hard and continue to work hard, we can feel it. In addition, they much better understand the ideas we are trying to convey to them, having reached a new level in terms of their fitness. The competition is even higher now, and even the players who haven’t participated in the match, train very well and are always ready to enter the pitch.
- You’ve got a fortnight before the next game. How are you planning to fill this gap?
- We’ll try to organise a test game next weekend, so as not to lose our run of form. It would be nice to play a friendly against the U17 team. Anyway, we aren’t going to lose the current form. There are many other aspects we need to step up. For example, in terms of recovery of those who had been injured for a long time, as they are in a slightly different form. But there’s still room for growth, development, and improvement. We are ambitious in terms of our performance quality. At the same time, we’re ready to compete right now.
- It seems that you didn’t have a long winter break: everyone is in great shape, displaying a high pace, dynamic play ...
- To be honest, that’s right. We are fortunate that the club decided on our trip to Turkey in the winter. 16 days there helped us a lot. The guys have worked really hard and continue to work hard, we can feel it. In addition, they much better understand the ideas we are trying to convey to them, having reached a new level in terms of their fitness. The competition is even higher now, and even the players who haven’t participated in the match, train very well and are always ready to enter the pitch.
- You’ve got a fortnight before the next game. How are you planning to fill this gap?
- We’ll try to organise a test game next weekend, so as not to lose our run of form. It would be nice to play a friendly against the U17 team. Anyway, we aren’t going to lose the current form. There are many other aspects we need to step up. For example, in terms of recovery of those who had been injured for a long time, as they are in a slightly different form. But there’s still room for growth, development, and improvement. We are ambitious in terms of our performance quality. At the same time, we’re ready to compete right now.