Dnipro vs Shakhtar: players’ comments

24-05-15 00:30:02

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The Pitmen have reflected on the match with Dnipro.

Taras Stepanenko, Shakhtar’s midfielder:

- Today Dnipro fielded young guys who wanted to prove something to the manager; they were fighting in every episode. Perhaps not everything worked out well for them, but, look, they scored all working goals! That is, they fought, they ran until the end. We operated in the opposite way: some player would not fight to the end, another one would run in the wrong direction, others would put hopes on a team-mate... And it turns out, as they say: the order beats class. With the score at 1:2, we thought that we would win; we conceded a goal from a corner... During the season, we concede 7 or 8 goals like that, when someone does not mark tight his player to the end. For example, the match against Metalist: in that match we gifted a free-kick, and here - a key goal from a corner. And then we failed to convert two clear cut chances. We need to descend from heaven to earth. And we have to dig hard in order for the team to win. When all of us work, and give their all on the field, comes the result. As for our game, I would single out Hladkyi, Bernard and Teixeira. Alex had a good game – he showed an excellent performance in the last match with Dnipro and today as well. I have highlighted Bernard because of goal assist.

Serhiy Kryvtsov, Shakhtar’s defender:

- We are to blame for goals conceded: we created many chances, but not all of them were put away. The opponents, on the contrary, created few goal-scoring opportunities, but scored enough to win. I would not say that the Dnipropetrovsk side were more motivated than we were. We also had to win today, considering the race for second place. But in this game, both teams wanted to win equally. Apparently, therefore, there were many individual battles, and the degree of emotions read off scale. In the remaining game, we have to win, and, of course, in the Cup too.

Ismaily, Shakhtar’s defender:

- Today was a very hard match. We wanted to win, but unfortunately we did not. Although, in my opinion, we played well. We started the match well, scored the goal. Then Dnipro would level the scoreline twice. Perhaps, again, thanks to strong support from the stands. I cannot say that we lacked anything: attention or concentration. But the opponents managed to score three goals today. So we have work to do. We must win the remaining two matches to participate in the Champions League and win the domestic Cup.

FC Shakhtar