Vorskla captain – about the first part of the season and matches with Obolon
In the last three matches, Poltava Vorskla got two victories. Both are above Obolon. First, the Poltava team knocked the capital club out of the national Cup, and then beat them in the championship. After the UPL match Vorskla captain Igor Perduta appreciated the confrontation with Obolon, as well as the first part of the season for his team.
— Igor, just recently your team played in Kyiv against Obolon for the Ukrainian Cup, where you won big – 3:0. How big were the differences between the Cup match and the Ukrainian Championship game?
— Of course, Cup games are always different from Ukrainian championship matches. In the Cup everything is decided in one meeting. 10 days ago it was much easier for us to play than today. Both we and Obolon drew conclusions after the recent match. Moreover, both teams know each other’s capabilities very well. Historically, I know it is difficult for the same team to beat an opponent twice in a short period of time. But we succeeded.
— Was the match before the first goal scored?
– I think yes. The rain made the lawn quite difficult. It was quite difficult to come back after a missed goal.
— During the match, your midfielder Ibrahim Kane made several excellent shots from outside the penalty area. Didn’t he have enough luck to score a goal?
— We had enough chances to distinguish ourselves. I can’t say that there were many of them, but they were there. In the cup game we quickly managed to take advantage of our chances, and in the UPL game we had to make every effort.
— How would you assess the moment when the penalty was awarded?
“I am a defender and at that moment I was far from the scene of events. On the field, I asked Kane whether there were grounds for awarding a penalty kick – he replied that there were.
— In the last round, Stepanyuk missed a penalty in the away match with Minai in the 91st (!) minute of the match. And now he goes to the point again. Were you tempted to punch someone else?
“It means he’s a strong football player, since he came up to take the penalty again.” Ruslan took full responsibility, he’s great.
— Igor, in the last matches you began to consistently gain points, which was not the case before. What does this mean?
“It’s too early to draw any conclusions.” In every game we try to score points and win. Somewhere it comes out, somewhere it doesn’t. We make a lot of unforced errors.
— Who is the leader of today’s Vorskla?
– All team. If Stepanyuk scored today, then he. I have been in the team for a long time and I know that in order to achieve a positive result, Vorskla needs all 11 players who take the field to show their maximum. And who comes in as a replacement, too.
— Can you compare the mood of your partners today and at the end of July, when you were eliminated from the Conference League qualifications?
– There is a huge difference here. After we left Georgian Dila, we returned to Ukraine, and for another two weeks we walked around like we were condemned. Psychologically, it is very difficult for us, because for three years in a row we have been eliminated from European competitions without qualifying for the group stage. This weighs on us.
Source: Sportarena
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