The mentor is pleased with how his mentees cope with difficulties and achieve results
Head coach Shakhtar Marino Pusic commented on the difficult victory over Left Bank (1:0) in the away match of the 3rd round Ukrainian Premier League.
“Of course, the main goal in football is to win and get three points, and today we managed to achieve this goal. The game was played according to a rather complicated scenario, especially at the beginning – in the first half. And, of course, we expected our opponent to be quite difficult and unyielding, which you could see on the field. However, I am extremely pleased with how my team worked. I am especially pleased with how we played in the second half, how we were able to correct some inaccuracies.”
“I would like to note once again that the game was played according to a somewhat complicated scenario, but despite this we were able to create enough chances, especially in the second half of the match, and I think we could have scored more than one goal. The opponent created, in fact, one chance, which came after our individual mistakes. Nevertheless, I would like to praise my team for their efforts, for the level they demonstrated. We continue to work and prepare for the next matches.”
“I tend to think that in the first half we were a bit slow with the ball and generally slow in all our attacking moves. We managed to fix that in the second half and, as you may have noticed, it later turned into a lot more chances. In general, in a game like this, it’s enough to take advantage of one chance and then, as you know, the opponent can open up and we have a lot more space. Of course, it was hard to play today because of our opponent’s style – their low block and the tight positioning of their players on the field. This also somewhat constrained our usual style of play.”
“As I mentioned earlier, in the first half we lacked speed and reaction to the events happening on the pitch, but I am sincerely glad that my team managed to correct this situation in the second half. Once again, I will note that after the break we significantly improved our style, especially in finding free space and in playing more freely. As I always tell my team: difficulties forge winners. This means that every time we face some difficult situations, we literally become tougher. And today we had another great opportunity to grow and toughen up – both as a team and each of us individually as a professional. Therefore, I want to sincerely praise my team for the dedication and for the level of play and personal improvement that they demonstrated.”
Let us recall that the absolute debutant of the UPL successfully held off the champion’s attacks for more than an hour, but still conceded in the 63rd minute – Pedrinho, with his individual actions, created an opportunity for Daniil Sikan to shoot from within the goal area.
Shakhtar created many chances in the second half, but could have lost points – Left Bank missed a good opportunity in the 84th minute.
The victory allowed the Miners to gain 6 points and even take conditional first place in goal difference. In the next round, the champion will play away against Alexandria, also one of the leaders, which, unlike the Orange-Blacks, has not yet lost points in the championship.
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.
