We lacked conversion
Friday, April 11, 2025
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Press conference of LNZ head coach Roman Hryhorchuk after the defeat by Shakhtar (1-4)
– What will be a brief summary of the showdown with Shakhtar?
– The situation is special. I want to say that in no case will you hear anything negative from me. The only bad thing is that we lost, and it is clear that the score could have been different. I am not saying that we could have won, but we could have definitely scored a few more goals. For me, it is very important that we received information that confirms that the team has potential, and this indicates that we are close to playing football at a higher level. Today we lacked conversion, but I would call the moments we created serious attacking actions. And if these chances had ended in goals, we could have proudly remembered and rewatched them. We understand that the information we received is important and today’s game was a kind of test at this stage. I would like to express my deep gratitude once again and especially note the impressive, in a positive sense, act of our president: after the game, he went into the dressing room and said very right and necessary words. Great respect and sincere gratitude for this.
– Did you make the triple substitution because some players failed to get into the game? And the episode with the goal in the last minutes is also interesting: was it conceded due to a loss of focus?
– I will answer the second part of the question right away. You know, this is a purely football moment, because at the end the guys felt that we were close to a goal and could have scored in several episodes. Yes, of course, this is a certain violation of discipline. However, I am terribly glad about this violation, that the defenders went forward and tried to score. It would have been interesting if we had scored the second goal at least two or three minutes before the end. It would be really exciting for everyone. The way the players reacted, how they tried, how they went forward – I am very happy about that. We understand that when you play against a team like Shakhtar, if you give space and leave few players behind, you will get a counterattack, especially when it is Shakhtar with high-level performers who convert such moments. I see only benefits in this situation, even despite the conceded goal in the last minutes. There are things that are more important. As for the first part of the question: no, I would not blame anyone. Sometimes you need to change the game, and that does not mean that we are taking off footballers who did not play well. We made the substitutions that we thought could change the pattern of play. Fortunately, we succeeded. But I have no complaints about the players who were replaced.
– How do you explain this phenomenon: the team play better when they have nothing to lose, they gain confidence, and before that they act uncertainly?
– Thank you for this question. After hearing it, I understand that you are good at football. I agree that we are not OK in this aspect now, because we still cannot play our football the way we want to, confidently and focused, from the first seconds. And when you are confident, you make fewer mistakes. I completely agree with you on this. In terms of the psychological and emotional component, we are not yet at the level to call ourselves strong team capable of demonstrating their football despite everything. We still need to work on this.
– Did you consider positional attacks and vertical passes in the first half as a way to transition and avoid losing the ball in the middle of the field?
– Again, a question to the point. Our actions at the beginning of the attack looked weak. I cannot say that there was crazy pressing, but there was definitely pressure. If the team want to play combination football, they must be very strong at the beginning of the attack. Of course, when you want to play football, but make a mistake that leads to conceded goal, this kind of football quickly gets boring for everyone. We have to adjust this component so that there is no risk. I do not have a detailed analysis yet, but I think two goals were conceded after our mistakes near our own net, and this is unacceptable, especially in games against teams that have high individual skills and convert such opportunities.
– The situation is special. I want to say that in no case will you hear anything negative from me. The only bad thing is that we lost, and it is clear that the score could have been different. I am not saying that we could have won, but we could have definitely scored a few more goals. For me, it is very important that we received information that confirms that the team has potential, and this indicates that we are close to playing football at a higher level. Today we lacked conversion, but I would call the moments we created serious attacking actions. And if these chances had ended in goals, we could have proudly remembered and rewatched them. We understand that the information we received is important and today’s game was a kind of test at this stage. I would like to express my deep gratitude once again and especially note the impressive, in a positive sense, act of our president: after the game, he went into the dressing room and said very right and necessary words. Great respect and sincere gratitude for this.
– Did you make the triple substitution because some players failed to get into the game? And the episode with the goal in the last minutes is also interesting: was it conceded due to a loss of focus?
– I will answer the second part of the question right away. You know, this is a purely football moment, because at the end the guys felt that we were close to a goal and could have scored in several episodes. Yes, of course, this is a certain violation of discipline. However, I am terribly glad about this violation, that the defenders went forward and tried to score. It would have been interesting if we had scored the second goal at least two or three minutes before the end. It would be really exciting for everyone. The way the players reacted, how they tried, how they went forward – I am very happy about that. We understand that when you play against a team like Shakhtar, if you give space and leave few players behind, you will get a counterattack, especially when it is Shakhtar with high-level performers who convert such moments. I see only benefits in this situation, even despite the conceded goal in the last minutes. There are things that are more important. As for the first part of the question: no, I would not blame anyone. Sometimes you need to change the game, and that does not mean that we are taking off footballers who did not play well. We made the substitutions that we thought could change the pattern of play. Fortunately, we succeeded. But I have no complaints about the players who were replaced.
– How do you explain this phenomenon: the team play better when they have nothing to lose, they gain confidence, and before that they act uncertainly?
– Thank you for this question. After hearing it, I understand that you are good at football. I agree that we are not OK in this aspect now, because we still cannot play our football the way we want to, confidently and focused, from the first seconds. And when you are confident, you make fewer mistakes. I completely agree with you on this. In terms of the psychological and emotional component, we are not yet at the level to call ourselves strong team capable of demonstrating their football despite everything. We still need to work on this.
– Did you consider positional attacks and vertical passes in the first half as a way to transition and avoid losing the ball in the middle of the field?
– Again, a question to the point. Our actions at the beginning of the attack looked weak. I cannot say that there was crazy pressing, but there was definitely pressure. If the team want to play combination football, they must be very strong at the beginning of the attack. Of course, when you want to play football, but make a mistake that leads to conceded goal, this kind of football quickly gets boring for everyone. We have to adjust this component so that there is no risk. I do not have a detailed analysis yet, but I think two goals were conceded after our mistakes near our own net, and this is unacceptable, especially in games against teams that have high individual skills and convert such opportunities.