The match gave us a lot of information
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
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Head coach of Shakhtar Patrick van Leeuwen shared his thoughts on the friendly match against Ajax
– Mister, how can you summarize the match?
– Today we had good opponents, who made it possible to see many things in the right light. We created a few moments at the beginning of the match: because of the attacks on the right wing, runs, good crosses when we were not in front of the goal. So, there were opportunities when we could have scored the first goal. But after that, there were problems with the organization, and we conceded. As I told the players before, this is a game against the team that will give us a lot of information about the aspects that need to be improved, the moments which are on a good level and what needs to be strengthened. Therefore, we saw it all. In the second half we made several substitutions to also look at other players in the game. This match showed what exactly we need to improve together to ensure good performance of the team and conversion of all opportunities we create.
– What have the team been working on in recent days and what was the plan for this match?
– This week our training sessions were focused on moving forward, creating obstacles for the opponents in their half of the field. When we had the ball, we tried to find space between the lines to move forward through short combinations and create our moments. As I already said, we created several opportunities through the right wing, less opportunities through the left. In my opinion, this is something that we should work on. And also, we have to convert the created opportunities in such international games against good opponents, like today.
– What are the general conclusions after three test matches?
– When we were playing these three games, the internationals were returning to us in groups every few days. I think it is not ideal to start the training camp with a small group that is constantly growing. Because, first, I have to explain my ideas again during training sessions, and second, they have to get in synch with the team. So, almost all three matches had different players, different line-ups, there were different moments to work on.
– What is the plan for the last days of the training camp?
– We have a scheduled match against Utrecht. This will be a game that everyone will participate in with extra minutes to give every player an hour to play. Our goal in the last game is to give everyone a chance to play and understand how to move forward.
– Today we had good opponents, who made it possible to see many things in the right light. We created a few moments at the beginning of the match: because of the attacks on the right wing, runs, good crosses when we were not in front of the goal. So, there were opportunities when we could have scored the first goal. But after that, there were problems with the organization, and we conceded. As I told the players before, this is a game against the team that will give us a lot of information about the aspects that need to be improved, the moments which are on a good level and what needs to be strengthened. Therefore, we saw it all. In the second half we made several substitutions to also look at other players in the game. This match showed what exactly we need to improve together to ensure good performance of the team and conversion of all opportunities we create.
– What have the team been working on in recent days and what was the plan for this match?
– This week our training sessions were focused on moving forward, creating obstacles for the opponents in their half of the field. When we had the ball, we tried to find space between the lines to move forward through short combinations and create our moments. As I already said, we created several opportunities through the right wing, less opportunities through the left. In my opinion, this is something that we should work on. And also, we have to convert the created opportunities in such international games against good opponents, like today.
– What are the general conclusions after three test matches?
– When we were playing these three games, the internationals were returning to us in groups every few days. I think it is not ideal to start the training camp with a small group that is constantly growing. Because, first, I have to explain my ideas again during training sessions, and second, they have to get in synch with the team. So, almost all three matches had different players, different line-ups, there were different moments to work on.
– What is the plan for the last days of the training camp?
– We have a scheduled match against Utrecht. This will be a game that everyone will participate in with extra minutes to give every player an hour to play. Our goal in the last game is to give everyone a chance to play and understand how to move forward.