The game was divided into two phases

– The game was divided into two phases – before the sending off and after it. In fact, we played the second half with ten players, which, of course, was not so much the cause of the crushing defeat as a factor of psychological depression. To some extent, the team lost faith in their ability to perform effectively while short-handed. Unfortunately, we have not yet learned to play on top against such opponents short-handed. Psychological despair had an impact, we began to move worse, to make more mistakes in individual actions with the ball. When you don’t have possession of the ball, it’s difficult to expect a positive result. However, the first half demonstrated that the team have potential, game discipline and speed. The only thing is that we need to learn to be a team that set big goals for themselves. And if we manage to achieve them, the result will definitely reflect that. Currently, the lack of result, and especially the conceded goal, does not give psychological confidence that we can change the course of the game. This is the main problem. I keep saying: we have to learn to score first.

– Myronenko received a second booking at the end of the first half. What did you say to the girls say at halftime?
– Statistical indicators in previous meetings showed that Myronenko performed a very large amount of running work. During the training process, we realized that she was ready for only one half due to the limited time for the body to fully recover. Therefore, we deliberately prepared her exclusively for the first half and treated this situation with understanding. Unfortunately, we were one minute away from going into half-time without a red card. After the break, the coaching staff worked to calm the girls down and emphasised the importance of demonstrating their play. However, individual skills currently do not allow us to demonstrate the style of play that we are counting on.

– Shakhtar will face Seasters in the next round. How will you prepare for this clash?
– We prepare for every game as if it were a major one, regardless of who our opponents are. We will prepare thoroughly for the match against Seasters and, of course, approach it with the mindset to win.