It is difficult to concede two goals in a row – you lose energy and faith
Sunday, November 12, 2023
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Press conference of head coach of Shakhtar Marino Pusic after the match against Dnipro-1
– Shakhtar started the game confidently, but then conceded after mistakes, in particular by Yaroslav Rakitskyi. Was this the reason for his substitution and how do you rate his performance?
– There is always a reason for a substitution, of course. I agree with you, we played a very good first half. And when you play a very good first half, dominate, create a lot of moments to score a second goal, a third goal and increase the gap, and then you get the equaliser out of nothing, from the corner kick, those goals are very expensive. It changed the momentum and energy of the game. The reason for Rakitskyi's substitution was the fact that he was getting more and more tired, and we wanted new energy, we wanted to bring fresh players in so that the full-backs attacked more often. Obviously, it was not enough. We win together and we lose together. It is not about Yaroslav, he is a great guy and a great warrior, he wants to play and he is a good player. So, it is not about him. We win together and we lose together.
– Mykola Matviienko appeared again on the left defensive wing. Will this be his new position or are you just unhappy with other left-backs?
– No, he played the last three games in this position, but he can play in both –as a centre-back and a left-back. Which one he will take depends on the game, on the opponent. I am very glad that he is multifunctional player and is able to sometimes play on the side and sometimes as a centre-back.
– You tried to change the game with substitutions: you released the laterals, a winger instead of a holding midfielder and a second striker. But you did not manage to change anything – Dnipro-1 defended compactly, like Shakhtar against Barcelona. How were these substitutions supposed to help the team?
– We tried to change the rhythm of the game with substitutions, to attack, because it is very difficult for a team when you concede two goals in a row – one very good set-piece goal, from a free kick, and one from 25 metres into the left corner. You lose energy, your faith in a positive result also decreases. We tried to change that, revive the team with new players, brought all attackers we had, took all risks. It is not easy to break that wall. There are several options to do this, but we did not use them today.
– You have been using almost the same starting line-up in the last matches. Are you satisfied with the selection of players?
– Like I said at the beginning, I arrived very fast, we are still in the phase when I am learning the players better. That is why we have organised a friendly game next week to see how the other players perform. We will continue to play like we have played until now, and hopefully the results will be better than today. Do we need something more? We will see during the winter break, I cannot tell you that right now. I am very happy with my players, and during the winter break we will see if something more is necessary.
– There is always a reason for a substitution, of course. I agree with you, we played a very good first half. And when you play a very good first half, dominate, create a lot of moments to score a second goal, a third goal and increase the gap, and then you get the equaliser out of nothing, from the corner kick, those goals are very expensive. It changed the momentum and energy of the game. The reason for Rakitskyi's substitution was the fact that he was getting more and more tired, and we wanted new energy, we wanted to bring fresh players in so that the full-backs attacked more often. Obviously, it was not enough. We win together and we lose together. It is not about Yaroslav, he is a great guy and a great warrior, he wants to play and he is a good player. So, it is not about him. We win together and we lose together.
– Mykola Matviienko appeared again on the left defensive wing. Will this be his new position or are you just unhappy with other left-backs?
– No, he played the last three games in this position, but he can play in both –as a centre-back and a left-back. Which one he will take depends on the game, on the opponent. I am very glad that he is multifunctional player and is able to sometimes play on the side and sometimes as a centre-back.
– You tried to change the game with substitutions: you released the laterals, a winger instead of a holding midfielder and a second striker. But you did not manage to change anything – Dnipro-1 defended compactly, like Shakhtar against Barcelona. How were these substitutions supposed to help the team?
– We tried to change the rhythm of the game with substitutions, to attack, because it is very difficult for a team when you concede two goals in a row – one very good set-piece goal, from a free kick, and one from 25 metres into the left corner. You lose energy, your faith in a positive result also decreases. We tried to change that, revive the team with new players, brought all attackers we had, took all risks. It is not easy to break that wall. There are several options to do this, but we did not use them today.
– You have been using almost the same starting line-up in the last matches. Are you satisfied with the selection of players?
– Like I said at the beginning, I arrived very fast, we are still in the phase when I am learning the players better. That is why we have organised a friendly game next week to see how the other players perform. We will continue to play like we have played until now, and hopefully the results will be better than today. Do we need something more? We will see during the winter break, I cannot tell you that right now. I am very happy with my players, and during the winter break we will see if something more is necessary.