We made simple mistakes
Sunday, November 9, 2025
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Comment from Shakhtar women’s team head coach Roman Zaiev after the defeat in the match against Kolos (1-3)
– The match was very important for us, and in general, all encounters with Kolos have been like this since the first season. Unfortunately, so far we cannot cope with the psychological pressure and made simple mistakes, which prevented us from gaining points. Certainly, we prepared the team and emphasised that we needed to be focused, aggressive and decisive, but apparently, this is not enough to win such matches. In the dressing room, I stressed that the team that want it the most will win. The current league standing is such that the winner will become the main contender for 4th spot.
– Yuliana Zavidova scored an impressive goal in the second half, equalising the score, but shortly afterwards Shakhtar conceded twice. What happened? And what can you say about Yuliana’s performance?
– If we look at the match chronology overall, we conceded an early goal due to a mistake by Balatska, who is only beginning her journey in senior football, and we try to trust her because she has considerable abilities. At half-time, we emphasised that nothing was lost; if we fought hard and showed aggression, we would have opportunities. Regarding Yuliana, we insisted that she take more initiative because she is very hardworking, and she can do almost everything during training sessions. To translate that into the game, she needs to show more leadership qualities and take responsibility. We stressed that she would have chances, as Kolos allowed one-on-one play, so she needed to take on opponents and look for shooting opportunities. I hope this will serve as a push for her to play more confidently in future matches.
– Two consecutive matches against Polissia Zhytomyr are ahead – in the league and the Ukrainian Cup. What is known about the preparation, and what are the expectations for these games?
– The next match is on Friday, so it doesn’t quite fit into the usual weekly cycle. The girls will have a day of rest, after which we will prepare tactically for the game against the next opponents, as we need to play as the first team to aim for points. Polissia’s squad is made up of experienced players and the team have ambitious goals to improve the quality of their play. The match will not be easy and we are fully aware of that.
– Yuliana Zavidova scored an impressive goal in the second half, equalising the score, but shortly afterwards Shakhtar conceded twice. What happened? And what can you say about Yuliana’s performance?
– If we look at the match chronology overall, we conceded an early goal due to a mistake by Balatska, who is only beginning her journey in senior football, and we try to trust her because she has considerable abilities. At half-time, we emphasised that nothing was lost; if we fought hard and showed aggression, we would have opportunities. Regarding Yuliana, we insisted that she take more initiative because she is very hardworking, and she can do almost everything during training sessions. To translate that into the game, she needs to show more leadership qualities and take responsibility. We stressed that she would have chances, as Kolos allowed one-on-one play, so she needed to take on opponents and look for shooting opportunities. I hope this will serve as a push for her to play more confidently in future matches.
– Two consecutive matches against Polissia Zhytomyr are ahead – in the league and the Ukrainian Cup. What is known about the preparation, and what are the expectations for these games?
– The next match is on Friday, so it doesn’t quite fit into the usual weekly cycle. The girls will have a day of rest, after which we will prepare tactically for the game against the next opponents, as we need to play as the first team to aim for points. Polissia’s squad is made up of experienced players and the team have ambitious goals to improve the quality of their play. The match will not be easy and we are fully aware of that.