We took three important points
Sunday, March 5, 2023
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Head coach of Shakhtar Igor Jovicevic summed up the victory over Metalist 1925 at the post-match press conference
– Was the game against Metalist 1925 informative in the context of preparation for the match against Feyenoord?
– We move with philosophy from match to match. We did not even think about Feyenoord, we came on only with thoughts of winning today to reduce the gap with Dnipro-1. We understood the importance of this match for getting the first place, which we do not want to give away. There are no small victories, and attitude, commitment and motivation – all of these things were multiplied by our quality and translated into the result. There were good combinations, plays and goals. This match turned out to be what every coach dreams of. We took three important points and only now will we think about Feyenoord.
– What did the opponents lack for competition?
– From the point of view of psychology, it was important for us to score quickly. We managed to score several goals at once. Again: I can only thank my boys for their attitude and tactical plan. We seriously prepared for these opponents and played as they allowed. After the match, it seems that it was easy, but we had to win duels, show dynamics and block the passes to Remeniuk, Rusyn and Chyruk. It was also necessary to neutralize the centre of the field, Martynyuk and Vachiberadze. The opponents have a lot of talented players and if you just watch them, they can cause a lot of problems for anyone.
– At one time, the coach of Metalist 1925 played under your guidance, but today after the match we did not see a handshake between the coaches. Maybe you did see each other after the game?
– Of course, we greeted each other both before and after the match. I even hugged him because he was an important player in my team at Karpaty. It is clear that today he cannot be satisfied with the result, but I wish him success in the future.
– Was it possible to give playing time to newcomer Toirov?
– We wanted to give him playing time, but Kryskiv also needed to feel the rhythm of the game, because he will be able to play against Feyenoord. Kryskiv spent only two training sessions in the general group, so we wanted to increase the number of players for Feyenoord. We have a squad problem with the defensive players and we are still thinking about how to solve it. I do not know if anyone has faced the situation when before the match you lose both laterals – Konoplia and Mykhailichenko, plus Bondar and Kozik, who could have helped, but he twisted his ankle two days ago. Among the defenders, we can only count on Taylor and Rakitskyi. During these four days, we should figure out how to build a decent and competitive team in a game against very worthy opponents. Yesterday I watched the match of Feyenoord and I saw their pace, rhythm and strong performers – it will be very difficult for us. But again, we believe that the impossible can become possible, so we will fight – it is our minimum that we are capable of doing.
– Did Kryskiv manage to fully recover?
– Yes, he managed to fully recover and fully train two times, which cannot be said about Shved. Marian also recovered, but he trained twice only in easy mode. I am glad that little by little everyone is recovering. Only Matviienko, who has had a fever for four or five days, is absent. This is another problem in defenсe, because we do not know if he will be ready for Feyenoord. This happens sometimes, but we have to be united to play the first match to the maximum.
– We move with philosophy from match to match. We did not even think about Feyenoord, we came on only with thoughts of winning today to reduce the gap with Dnipro-1. We understood the importance of this match for getting the first place, which we do not want to give away. There are no small victories, and attitude, commitment and motivation – all of these things were multiplied by our quality and translated into the result. There were good combinations, plays and goals. This match turned out to be what every coach dreams of. We took three important points and only now will we think about Feyenoord.
– What did the opponents lack for competition?
– From the point of view of psychology, it was important for us to score quickly. We managed to score several goals at once. Again: I can only thank my boys for their attitude and tactical plan. We seriously prepared for these opponents and played as they allowed. After the match, it seems that it was easy, but we had to win duels, show dynamics and block the passes to Remeniuk, Rusyn and Chyruk. It was also necessary to neutralize the centre of the field, Martynyuk and Vachiberadze. The opponents have a lot of talented players and if you just watch them, they can cause a lot of problems for anyone.
– At one time, the coach of Metalist 1925 played under your guidance, but today after the match we did not see a handshake between the coaches. Maybe you did see each other after the game?
– Of course, we greeted each other both before and after the match. I even hugged him because he was an important player in my team at Karpaty. It is clear that today he cannot be satisfied with the result, but I wish him success in the future.
– Was it possible to give playing time to newcomer Toirov?
– We wanted to give him playing time, but Kryskiv also needed to feel the rhythm of the game, because he will be able to play against Feyenoord. Kryskiv spent only two training sessions in the general group, so we wanted to increase the number of players for Feyenoord. We have a squad problem with the defensive players and we are still thinking about how to solve it. I do not know if anyone has faced the situation when before the match you lose both laterals – Konoplia and Mykhailichenko, plus Bondar and Kozik, who could have helped, but he twisted his ankle two days ago. Among the defenders, we can only count on Taylor and Rakitskyi. During these four days, we should figure out how to build a decent and competitive team in a game against very worthy opponents. Yesterday I watched the match of Feyenoord and I saw their pace, rhythm and strong performers – it will be very difficult for us. But again, we believe that the impossible can become possible, so we will fight – it is our minimum that we are capable of doing.
– Did Kryskiv manage to fully recover?
– Yes, he managed to fully recover and fully train two times, which cannot be said about Shved. Marian also recovered, but he trained twice only in easy mode. I am glad that little by little everyone is recovering. Only Matviienko, who has had a fever for four or five days, is absent. This is another problem in defenсe, because we do not know if he will be ready for Feyenoord. This happens sometimes, but we have to be united to play the first match to the maximum.