The miners wisely took advantage of their numerical majority
Donetsk mentor Shakhtar Marino Pusic commented on the victory over Obolon (3:0) in the 22nd round of the UPL.
“I am glad that Stepanenko is back, because he had a serious injury since the winter, since we were in Turkey. Of course, this is a player with character and great experience, he always works hard, a true professional. And, as I just said in the locker room, Stepanenko is a real captain. Whether he starts or not, Taras is always with the team, this is very important. I’m glad he’s back on the field.”
“From the very beginning we played very well, we were concentrated and disciplined, which is very important because it’s not easy after the international break. Many of our players took part in a large number of national team matches: for example, Matvienko, Sudakov and Konoplya played for the Ukrainian national team in all matches and put in a lot of effort.”
“Then, of course, you come back a little tired, but they showed a very high level of professionalism and quality, so I’m very happy. But I have to praise my team, because today everyone acted very professionally, we played all the situations the way they should.”
“I’ll share with you what I told the players in the dressing room: great teamwork, an important win and we move on to the next match. And he said something about Stepanenko. And I am very happy that Marlon Gomez entered the field. He is a newcomer, a young multi-functional player, and it is always good for such a young player to experience a new competition, a new game, and we congratulated him on this game. I’m interested to see his quality in the next stage.”
“And, of course, Marjan Shved. He also had an injury for a long period, then came back, but did not play, but he continued to fight, had good results in the winter break, and when the chance came, he took it because he trained well and that is why he was able to play 90 minutes and make a difference today. So I’m very happy for him and his contribution to this game and our team. There is a good victory. Tomorrow we will have recovery, and the day after tomorrow we will switch to the next fight.”
Shakhtar continues to lead the UPL with 46 points. In the next match, the Miners will play Chornomorets in the semi-finals of the Ukrainian Cup on April 3.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
