Yevhen Nazarov: "This is a huge incentive"

The head coach of the youth team "Metalist 1925" Yevhen Nazarov on his team's victory over their peers from "Kolos":

— The game was not easy. The opponent is serious, we analyzed them and saw that the team plays very diversely. They have a lot of tactical preparations, so we had certain difficulties. The opponent constantly changed tactics. I won't go into all the details, but, let's say, defenders moved inside, midfielders pushed higher — several attacking options.

Plus, we had problems starting our attacks — losing the ball in simple situations. But then, as they say, we got into the game, scored a very necessary goal. This probably added strength and confidence to the boys. In the second half, we may have had less ball possession, but the game went according to our scenario.

— Four players from the youth team made their debut this week. How did this affect the game and themselves?

— You can see for yourself how it affected — we won. This is a huge incentive. Young footballers see that the first team is interested in them, that they are involved in the training process. Plus, they get playing time — this is very important.

— In the first half, the opponent was more active, had moments, goals from offside positions. What was key in being able to push and bring the match to victory?

— We adapted to their game. Yes, it was not easy. We could have made a substitution in the first half, but we held on — and this gave us more organization, more calmness. The player who came on did well. The goal we scored showed that we can also act actively against such an opponent. And in the second half, our attacks were sharper, despite less ball possession, dangerous moments began to arise. And we scored a second goal. As for the opponent's offside goal — that's a question for the referees.