Captain Rukha – about the match with Dynamo in the seventh round of the UPL and the crushing defeat of the second team of the Lviv club
Captain Ruha Denis Pidgursky was one of the most useful players of his team in confrontation with Dynamo in the away match of the 7th round of the UPL. After the final whistle of the referee from Dnipro Vitaliy Romanov, Denis analyzed his team’s match in detail and also touched on the performance of Rukh (U-19).
— Denis, do you agree with the opinion of journalists who, after the game, said that this was Rukh’s best match in the current Ukrainian championship, if we take into account the quality of the game?
– No. We had better matches. It is clear why we are rated like that today – we played away against the giants of Ukrainian football.
— In the first half, you practically didn’t allow Dynamo to create anything at the goal. What qualities allowed you to resist Dynamo?
— We analyzed the Kyivans very well. We can make the following comparison: the youth team of Ukraine and the national team of Ukraine played at the Dynamo stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovsky today. Everyone knows that we have a lot of young people in our team. As far as I remember, Dynamo had 9 players called up to the main team of the country in September.
The Dynamo – Rukh match was given special attention, I am sure, and Sergey Rebrov watched this game. In the first half, we wanted to start calmly, to act in positional defense. After all, it is known that Dynamo players usually start playing aggressively at home, they want to score a quick goal. We tried to run out in quick counterattacks and we created one good moment. The hosts did not have such a chance.
— Did the game open up in the second half?
– Yes. It is very good. First of all, I would like to note the quality work of referee Vitaly Romanov. He gave the football players the opportunity to fight, set a certain standard for the fight. There was a duel between the football players – he does not whistle for no reason. Today there was the EPL in Kyiv. I would like other referees to referee like this, then the football players will progress. The football was active, there were no pauses – the intensity of the matches is growing. I hope that Vitaly Romanov will referee European Cup games.
— Are your partners happy with the points they scored?
— You know, even before the game, when we were talking to our partners, we said that we would like to look each other in the eye after the final whistle, without looking away. Everyone thanked each other. Of course, we would like to beat Dynamo Kyiv today. By beating our super club, you grow as a player, and the team progresses. We are happy with this match.
— On Wednesday, Dynamo starts in the Europa League. Lazio awaits them in Hamburg. Does the Ukrainian team have a chance to win this match?
— After the meeting, my partners and I talked to many Dynamo players – we have excellent relations. We wished them good luck in the upcoming match. We will root for them in the European Cups. We need rating points. Today’s Dynamo is a cut above the one we had in the last Ukrainian championship. We saw Dynamo in the Champions League qualification in the summer, and they looked quite decent there. I think they have a good chance to prove themselves in a prestigious tournament. They can easily make it to the playoff round.
— On the eve of the game of the main teams, the teams played in the capital of Ukraine U-19. Rukh lost to Dynamo with a humiliating score of 0:10. But back in May 2023, Rukh (U-19) was the champion of Ukraine. How could this happen?
— I will say the following: many guys from the U-19 team often train with the main team of Rukh. I know these guys personally. We traveled from Lviv to Kyiv by bus and watched the youth teams’ game on a tablet. I think I was more upset than they were.
I know that our management, as well as the coaching staff of the first team, have already made several decisions – there will be big changes. First of all, in discipline. The players will be punished. Yes, Rukh (U-19) was the champion of Ukraine for two years in a row, but all the players have changed. We have a good academy. This will be a good lesson for our guys, and they will draw conclusions from this meeting. And if they do not draw conclusions after a 0:10 defeat, then they need to hang up their boots and do something else. Fortunately, their age allows it.
I have already spoken to some of them, and in raised tones. I hope that they will listen to their senior comrades. If their attitude does not change, then we will not take anyone into the main team of Rukh, not even for training. I can say this as the team captain.
Source: Sportarena

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