The win was a good boost
Sunday, August 3, 2025
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Shakhtar women’s team head coach Roman Zaiev shared his impressions after the win over Pantery Uman (3-1) in the new season opener
– Congratulations! Shakhtar secured an away victory over Pantery in the Vyshcha League season opener. How would you summarise the match?
– The start of the season is always very important because the psychological foundation you set early on greatly affects the matches that follow. The win was a good boost and I hope we continue in the same spirit. At the same time, it’s important to understand that the level of teams in the Vyshcha League is evening out, there are no easy or straightforward matches anymore. Psychological resilience plays a huge role in women’s football. We confidently established a two-goal lead thanks to excellent fast attacks, but after conceding a goal from an avoidable penalty, our confidence wavered somewhat, which made the ending a bit chaotic. During break, we calmed the players down and asked them to focus on ball control and quick movement in the final phase of attacks. That’s exactly what happened: we deliberately played more cautiously at the start of the second half to avoid conceding another goal, knowing that the opponents would tire physically and the game would balance out. We expected to take advantage of our speed – and it worked. The final goal confirmed that our chosen tactics were correct.
– Shakhtar’s goals came from long balls played in behind the Pantery defenders. Was that a rehearsed tactic?
– We analysed the opponents’ game in detail and knew that their back line wasn’t particularly quick. So we focused on using long passes into attacking areas whenever there was space to exploit. In the end, the goals were a direct result of the work we’d done and the plans we’d discussed.
– This match marked Kateryna Kuksa’s debut for Shakhtar. What can you say about her performance?
– Kateryna is quite a skilled player, and we understood from the start that if we’re strengthening the squad, any new signing should be a first-choice option when it comes to rotation. Since Starukhina wasn’t available to play against the Pantery, Kuksa took her place on the pitch. Although she got a bit flat in the middle of the first half, we spoke to her during the break and asked her to take more initiative in organising play and looking for the ball. I’m glad she responded because she has the potential to become an important part of this team.
– The start of the season is always very important because the psychological foundation you set early on greatly affects the matches that follow. The win was a good boost and I hope we continue in the same spirit. At the same time, it’s important to understand that the level of teams in the Vyshcha League is evening out, there are no easy or straightforward matches anymore. Psychological resilience plays a huge role in women’s football. We confidently established a two-goal lead thanks to excellent fast attacks, but after conceding a goal from an avoidable penalty, our confidence wavered somewhat, which made the ending a bit chaotic. During break, we calmed the players down and asked them to focus on ball control and quick movement in the final phase of attacks. That’s exactly what happened: we deliberately played more cautiously at the start of the second half to avoid conceding another goal, knowing that the opponents would tire physically and the game would balance out. We expected to take advantage of our speed – and it worked. The final goal confirmed that our chosen tactics were correct.
– Shakhtar’s goals came from long balls played in behind the Pantery defenders. Was that a rehearsed tactic?
– We analysed the opponents’ game in detail and knew that their back line wasn’t particularly quick. So we focused on using long passes into attacking areas whenever there was space to exploit. In the end, the goals were a direct result of the work we’d done and the plans we’d discussed.
– This match marked Kateryna Kuksa’s debut for Shakhtar. What can you say about her performance?
– Kateryna is quite a skilled player, and we understood from the start that if we’re strengthening the squad, any new signing should be a first-choice option when it comes to rotation. Since Starukhina wasn’t available to play against the Pantery, Kuksa took her place on the pitch. Although she got a bit flat in the middle of the first half, we spoke to her during the break and asked her to take more initiative in organising play and looking for the ball. I’m glad she responded because she has the potential to become an important part of this team.