Mircea Lucescu: There’ll be many such games in the league

The head coach of Shakhtar gave a press conference after defeating Hoverla.

- What can we learn from this match? Three points, two goals scored and zero conceded, which is very important. Plus, of course, this is one of the aspects of preparation for the encounter with Fenerbahce, who will not play like Hoverla were playing today. It was the game between our offensive players and the team who defended in a very good and organised way, particularly in the first half. We saw great ambition and motivation of Hoverla players. No wonder that towards the end of the second half, many players started suffering from cramp. This is due to the fact that they did a lot of work. They were fighting for a positive result. While we, probably, did not play very well in the first half. Too many players moved back into midfield to receive the ball. That’s why we were unable to take advantage of the opponents’ patchy defence. In the second half, through fielding Taison and Eduardo we reached the opposition goal more easily and threatened them more often. Probably, there’ll be many games like this in the Ukrainian league - with the exception of the meetings between the sides claiming to win some top spots.

- Mister, are you relying on Fred? What’s his situation?
- Let's see what happens in the next few days. We will be able to answer the question whether he will be preparing for Fenerbahce or not by then.

- Why Ordets was named man of the match today?
- Because he played very well, confidently, reliably, winning a great many challenges. When I make a decision about who will be man of the match, it does not matter whether it’s a striker or a defender. If one played well, I just admit it. Ordets put in a very reliable performance.

- What was the reason behind picking Kucher? Has Rakits’kyy just had some rest today?
- If you notice not only Rakits’kyy had rest today. Compared to the match against Fenerbahce, there were seven new players. We are not going to mention anyone individually now. Footballers of about the same level currently play at Shakhtar. If I trust them, they must justify that trust on the pitch. I'm sure that if we had deployed the same line-up we used against Fenerbehche, the same thing would have happened: the team would have attacked continuously, and the opponents would have defended for as long as possible.

- Pyatov wasn’t on the bench today. Is he OK?
- He is all right, so he will be preparing for the game just like the others. I am surprised that you are asking about those missing instead of those who were on the pitch.



Vyacheslav Hroznyi: If Shakhtar get in the zone, you won’t be able to stop them

The head coach of Uzhhorod-based Hoverla gave a comment after playing Shakhtar and answered questions from the media.

- Firstly, I want to congratulate Shakhtar! The team who got off to a confident start of the season, winning virtually every match. I sincerely wish them to beat Fenerbahce on Wednesday! Personally, I believe that the level of the Donetsk team deserves their beating opponents in European competitions. I wish all of our Ukrainian teams every success. And on Wednesday, I will come to support Shakhtar in the match against the Turks. Most probably, the stadium will be full ... Before our game, I really feared that we might get the whole lot of goals. Our team is young, lacking teamwork, we didn’t even play friendly games. While the players are promising, they haven’t played enough: in the same Hoverla, Dynamo, in Petrakov’s U19 national teams. We must bring the lads’ form to the same level. I cannot stage the performance similar to that of Dynamo Kyiv, because I do not have Dragovic and Khacheridi, I have no Kucer and Rakits’kyy, Douglas and Papa Gueye. I have young performers who have not played a single top-tier match. I do not scold the boys when they make errors, as they have to go through all of this to grow. I thanked my team for the performance, shook hands with everyone. I would like my players to gain the necessary experience against such top teams – as they are Ukrainian footballers who sooner or later will be mature enough to play for the first teams. We need to be patient. They cannot play at the level of Shakhtar - there are top players representing different national teams. While I have the boys who get flustered. Nevertheless, our meetings with Dnipro and Shakhtar are as different as day and night. Today, they’ve made many mistakes. They did not meet the players - the same Teixeira and Eduardo, while the latter were scoring goals. Just cool players! However, they should not be allowed to take shots. By the way, thanks to Shakhtar management for the fact that they allowed Ihor Honchar appear. I hope that the top executives of Dynamo will also allow us to field those on loan. Such relationships between the clubs deserve respect. The big clubs are not able to digest such number of players, they have different goals. While our objective is giving them the opportunity to play. There are, of course, some talented Transcarpathian footballers, but Kobin plays for Shakhtar, Churko decided to move to Metalist. I understand them ...
 
- Your team has a great many Dynamo players, and before the game today, some believed that there would be a fight on the pitch. But your team operated carefully and correctly. Did you instruct them not to bring down Shakhtar players before Fenerbahce?
- Thanks for the question! You noticed it right: the game was correct. And I am a supporter of this kind of football! All the players ‘win the same bread’, and you cannot play tough, tackle them from behind, be rude on the field. Of course, Shakhtar are to meet with Fenerbahce, and on our behalf we cannot do inappropriate things. And this concerns not just the Pitmen: we also played Dnipro and Vorskla just like that. We will play everyone like that. My players can produce tackles, but I said: only when you're sure you can hit the ball! I could control the charges in the first half, when the game was happening near our coaching area. While in the second half, I could not cry loud enough for them to hear my words. My players started losing their opponents even in midfield. Against any team, at any score, I would never tell my footballers to play too rough. I am a coach of a completely different breed. It is important for them to think first, and only then make some move.

- In the second half, you instructed your assistant Vasyutyk to prompt the players on the field. Why?
- Because I didn’t want to get too nervous. Last season, we conceded 11 goals by the Pitmen. We equalised in Uzhhorod after 0-3, but then, the ‘revolving door’ affair happened. We lost 3-7 as you remember. I did not want them to once again get under the roller drum. If Shakhtar get in the zone, you won’t be able to stop them then. It’s Vasyutyk who is responsible for set play near our goal, so I instructed him to prompt them who should cover whom. When playing at home, we also do the same thing.