Mladen Bartulovich: "Today we played for Ramik and Ari"

Press conference of the head coach of "Metalist 1925" Mladen Bartulovich after his team's victory in the match against "Kolos":

— First of all, I want to congratulate my team on a very important and, in my opinion, well-deserved victory. The guys did a great job, they did everything we planned. They knew it would be a tough game, essentially a six-point game. "Kolos" is a very good team, hasn't lost in a long time, but today we were able to press the opponent. In the second half, I believe we played very well, scored a deserved goal, and brought the match to a logical conclusion. This became key to the final result.

— What was key to achieving victory today?

— Our great team spirit, the guys play for each other. Today they played for Ramik and Ari, who got injured. This united the team. It was visible on the field how the guys gave their all, how they want to progress. It's nice that Antyuk scored the winning goal - in the same position where Ramik and Ari usually play. He also missed several matches due to injury. It was tough, but we are very happy that he scored his first goal for "Metalist 1925" and helped secure this victory. But it's a victory of the whole team, everyone worked for the result.

— How do you assess the draw in the Ukrainian Cup and the prospects in this tournament?

— We don't look too far ahead. We have a tight schedule, important championship matches ahead, so we are currently focused on preparing for each upcoming game. In the Cup, we got "Agrobusiness" - a very serious opponent, a team with experience, consistently playing in the top part of the First League table, well-organized, conceded only one goal in the opening rounds. So we will prepare as we would for any other opponent. The Cup is also a priority for us.

— What can fans expect from the next UPL match, where "Metalist 1925" will play against "Dynamo"?

— I believe it will be a good game. We are aiming for victory, as in matches against "Shakhtar", "Kolos", and any other team. We want to give a real fight to "Dynamo" and every opponent.