Not everything was as planned
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
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Head coach of Shakhtar Patrick van Leeuwen summed up the results of the match against Veres
– Please share your impressions after the match, assess the actions of your players. Could it be that not everything went according to plan?
– Yes, you are right, not everything was as planned. We asked our players to start at a higher tempo to quickly outplay the opponents by passing the ball. But the team started too slowly to surprise Veres. We got the goal in a curious way, but it was a goal scored according to the rules – the referee was nearby and monitored the situation. Then we got a red card, which made us change our tactics and our way to control the game and focus on defence.
– Tell us more about the second half. In the minority, you moved Kashchuk to the right wing. Were the team able to create danger near the opponent's goal? Did it seem that there were no moments?
– I did make some substitutions at half-time and moved Kashchuk to the right wing because of Zubkov's minor physical problems. We also replaced Gocholeishvili because he got a yellow card and we did not want to get another surprise with a second booking that would lead to a red card. This is the reason for our substitutions. We had to adjust a little bit, because we had one less player, so we played in a different way, let the opponent come forward more. I do not agree that we did not have any chances: we still had three or four moments that could have been dangerous for Veres. Yes, the second half was more of a fight because we had one less player.
– Today Bondar was replaced by Kozik in the centre of defence. How would you rate his performance? And is newcomer Stav Lemkin ready to play for Shakhtar?
– In case of Kozik, he did well, he should have been helped more by the experienced players, but he did his job and got the experience. It is part of Shakhtar's culture – to work with young players, and also now, to work with many young Ukrainian players. So, I think he started to do his job well, got the experience in a difficult game. Also, when the team have one less player, there is even more pressure on the central defender. So, he did OK with today's appearance. Stav Lemkin is a talented player who the club signed. We will start working with him as soon as possible to integrate him into the team.
– Did rescheduling of the match to the middle of the week help or disturb you?
– It is always interesting for the footballers to play the matches like the one against Tottenham. Now it is connected with a charity for Ukraine, and it is a good moment to keep reminding the world about the situation in Ukraine. I think the main purpose for us was to give the experience to our players. Of course, we counted on having more players, Bondar and Sudakov are missing from the squad due to injuries. It was something that we did not predict. At the moment, this is the situation, and the decision to play this international game was made before to draw attention to the current events in Ukraine and for the players to get this experience.
– How would you today's performance of Veres?
– They took a point, and they were fighting until the end to get even more. In the end, we have an OK result. We are not satisfied with our game, but there is a motivation that we did not lose, that some young players got the experience of playing in the UPL.
– Why did not Trubin play today?
– Anatolii Trubin returned after his suspension, and we have already started the league with Dmytro Riznyk, so today we continued with him.
– Yes, you are right, not everything was as planned. We asked our players to start at a higher tempo to quickly outplay the opponents by passing the ball. But the team started too slowly to surprise Veres. We got the goal in a curious way, but it was a goal scored according to the rules – the referee was nearby and monitored the situation. Then we got a red card, which made us change our tactics and our way to control the game and focus on defence.
– Tell us more about the second half. In the minority, you moved Kashchuk to the right wing. Were the team able to create danger near the opponent's goal? Did it seem that there were no moments?
– I did make some substitutions at half-time and moved Kashchuk to the right wing because of Zubkov's minor physical problems. We also replaced Gocholeishvili because he got a yellow card and we did not want to get another surprise with a second booking that would lead to a red card. This is the reason for our substitutions. We had to adjust a little bit, because we had one less player, so we played in a different way, let the opponent come forward more. I do not agree that we did not have any chances: we still had three or four moments that could have been dangerous for Veres. Yes, the second half was more of a fight because we had one less player.
– Today Bondar was replaced by Kozik in the centre of defence. How would you rate his performance? And is newcomer Stav Lemkin ready to play for Shakhtar?
– In case of Kozik, he did well, he should have been helped more by the experienced players, but he did his job and got the experience. It is part of Shakhtar's culture – to work with young players, and also now, to work with many young Ukrainian players. So, I think he started to do his job well, got the experience in a difficult game. Also, when the team have one less player, there is even more pressure on the central defender. So, he did OK with today's appearance. Stav Lemkin is a talented player who the club signed. We will start working with him as soon as possible to integrate him into the team.
– Did rescheduling of the match to the middle of the week help or disturb you?
– It is always interesting for the footballers to play the matches like the one against Tottenham. Now it is connected with a charity for Ukraine, and it is a good moment to keep reminding the world about the situation in Ukraine. I think the main purpose for us was to give the experience to our players. Of course, we counted on having more players, Bondar and Sudakov are missing from the squad due to injuries. It was something that we did not predict. At the moment, this is the situation, and the decision to play this international game was made before to draw attention to the current events in Ukraine and for the players to get this experience.
– How would you today's performance of Veres?
– They took a point, and they were fighting until the end to get even more. In the end, we have an OK result. We are not satisfied with our game, but there is a motivation that we did not lose, that some young players got the experience of playing in the UPL.
– Why did not Trubin play today?
– Anatolii Trubin returned after his suspension, and we have already started the league with Dmytro Riznyk, so today we continued with him.