Mircea Lucescu: We dominated throughout the whole game

Head coach of Shakhtar has reflected on the victory over Chornomorets.

- Important three points. We created a lot of scoring chances and dominated throughout the whole match. It is normal that we won 2-0. I would single out Matvienko’s good league debut as a centre back, and quite a confident game from Kanibolotskyy. Kovalenko also did well – he is gradually becoming the first team player. Plus, I would highlight top performances from experienced players: Srna, Kucher and Eduardo. These are the elements of today's game that I would like to mention. There are still three rounds left before the end of the first half of the league campaign, while the other championships are far from the closing stages. It is not easy mentally: three days ago there was a packed stadium, and now it is again completely empty. It is hard to motivate players for these games.

- How did an early goal help you?
- We quickly took the lead, but did not score a lot after that. We did not stop and created chances, but unfortunately our conversion of chances wasn’t up to the mark.

- You have said that Kovalenko will become the best player of Ukraine. Is there a room for improvement for him?What do you make of his performance today?
- He is a talented player. We expect that he will continue growing. I believe that I am competent regarding young players and I know what to do for them to develop, without thinking that they are already phenomena. Kovalenko still has a lot to learn. But I can say that he is very talented. It still takes time in order to become a good accomplished player.

Oleksandr Babich: We’ll ask Shakhtar for kit

After the match, head coach of Chornomorets talked to reporters.

- Our primary goal was not to concede a goal. And we failed to do it. The guys took to the pitch nervous, they failed to make first pass. But after conceding a goal, I believe we started playing in a more free manner, and in the first half there was a couple of good transitions from defence to offense. Although the final touches were missing. I can say that in the second half we worked well, creating chances. There were a lot of errors in simple situations - first of all, because of the psychology. The boys, who in training solve these difficult situations quite confidently in this component, lost in psychological terms in the match. And because of that there were a lot of errors in simple situations from guys, from whom I did not expect such elementary errors.

- How would you explain that your defence lost virtually all physical battles against Shakhtar?
- The task was to operate compactly. And the guys played so. They looked inferior in one on one situations, but not in areal challenges. But I think that the Pitmen’s attacking line in one on one can beat any player in the Ukrainian league. In the second half of the game, our centre backs acted tighter. At the moment it is our level. As for psychology, then we can ask Shakhtar for their kit, for one part of the team to play for the Donetsk team. The second part of the team will then feel freer and they will not be pressed by the emblem.

- Were there instructions for your team to play defensive football, or were your team afraid of going forward?
- We started operating straight from defence, then we began to close down Shakhtar a little higher in the middle zone. In this way we were able to intercept the ball. But the counterattacks are the most powerful trump card of the Pitmen. We were lucky not to have conceded a goal from counterattacks.

- What is the next algorithm of Chornomorets’ success?
- Work, work, and move on. We objectively understand that from such games we can only win. It is difficult to deal with Shakhtar on equal terms. If there is a miracle, the outcome can be positive. But at the moment it is our level. There should be a strategic approach to such moments, we have to show a game in with our competitors to achieve results.