Shakhtar defender speaks about the match with Dynamo in the 11th round of the UPL
Defender Shakhtar Efim Hemp assessed the central match of the 11th round of the Ukrainian championship, in which the Miners in Kyiv lost in peace with Dynamo (1:1).
— Looking at the standings, everyone understood the importance of this game for the Donetsk team. What was missing to beat Dynamo?
— I think everyone saw that we outplayed Dynamo. This happened in the first half and at the beginning of the second. Of course, after Kryskiv was removed, everything became different. We needed to make certain adjustments and maintain the winning score for us. However, Dynamo has great performers. Karavaev came on as a substitute and scored a goal. And a great goal. I’ll tell you, when he came on as a substitute, the thought crept into my mind that he could score for us.
— The first half of the match was not very eventful…
— Yes, there were few bright moments. However, we carried out good attacks. I’ll note Zubkov’s long-range strike against the crossbar. Once again, Sasha could well have rolled the ball to me in someone else’s penalty area. We had approaches.
– Who actually scored your goal – Bondarenko or Bondar?
– I didn’t really see it. Did the ball cross the goal line after the first kick, or only after the second kick.
— Was Kryskiv’s removal due to the case?
— I watched the video of this episode in the locker room – probably yes. During the match I had a different point of view, perhaps I thought this was a rather harsh decision by the referee. We have a VAR system, so I think we could have given him a yellow card first and then reviewed this episode.
— This week both Shakhtar and Dynamo played their matches in European competition. Did these meetings affect the quality of play in the main match of the first round of the UPL?
“We recovered well, we had enough time to prepare for the Clasico. As for Dynamo, I don’t know. They just returned to the capital of Ukraine yesterday.
— Is there a lot of disappointment in the locker room over the draw?
– Certainly. It’s a shame to miss a goal at the very end of the match.
— What do the Miners need to close the six-point gap to Dynamo?
— Our team needs to win all games, and Dynamo needs to lose everything.
Source: Sportarena
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