Shovkovsky: If in the last minutes one of our fullbacks makes an assist and the second fullback scores, it means that the team is functionally ready

Mentor of Kyiv Dynamo Alexander Shovkovskiy commented on the victory over Partizan (3:0) in the return match of the second qualifying round Champions League.

“I congratulate all the fans of our team on the victory. We have made a very important step in solving our problem, but we have not yet solved it completely. This victory has an unpleasant aftertaste, since one of our players received a very serious injury and was out, I think, for quite a long time, unfortunately. I take each such situation to heart, because I treat the players almost like a father. We do not know the details yet, but we are worried together with him.”

“Unfortunately, yesterday evening there was a situation as a result of which he suffered a small injury – a cut. He had two stitches on his leg, so we were forced to change the lineup on the fly. It’s okay, Vladimir was ready to go out, but we didn’t want any complications, and the result of the first match allowed us to change the tactical scheme a little. After all, it was a small surgical intervention, and we wanted to avoid the risk of introducing some kind of infection for him. In short, we simply saved him for the upcoming match.”

“We were very well received in Serbia, there were no problems. In general, the President of Ukraine thanked your country, the government and the residents for the support that was given to our people in this difficult situation in which we found ourselves. We were also well.”

“As a coach, I see opportunities to improve the game. And we will always work on this. If I am completely satisfied, I need to finish my coaching career that has just begun. In general, I am satisfied, first of all, with the understanding, attitude, internal motivation that the players have, and the team that we are building. A team is a collection of players, and a team is a single organism. These are the moments that inspire us to work further, set ambitious plans for ourselves and move towards them.”

“As for the team’s readiness, I’ll say this: if in the last minutes one of our full-backs makes an assist and the second full-back scores, this means that the team is functionally ready.”

Let us recall that Dynamo also defeated Partizan in the first match with a score of 6:2. Before the match, which took place in Lublin, Poland, the Kiev team refused all official events with the Serbian club, which had previously traveled to the “brotherly” tournament in Moscow.

In the next round of the Champions League qualification, Oleksandr Shovkovskiy’s team will play against Scottish Rangers. The matches of this stage of the tournament are scheduled for August 6 and 13.