Natalia Zinchenko: "Today there were two different halves"

Comments after the match of the 10th round of the first stage of the Higher League between ZFK "Metalist 1925" and ZFK "Polissya", which ended with a confident victory of the Kharkiv women with a score of 5-0:

Natalia Zinchenko (head coach of ZFK "Metalist 1925"):

— Today there were two different halves, but I can't say that something didn't go according to our script. We started very well, could have scored twice, but lacked a bit of quality up front. We need to address the issues of misalignment that occur in our first halves. After the break, we played our game: fast, aggressive, intense. Cold-blooded actions resulted in goals.

— Before conceding the first goal, the opponent defended quite organized. Did you expect "Polissya" to have such a low block?

— In the first round match, they played quite high, pressing us from the first minutes. We analyzed their matches in the first round and were prepared for this.

— Veronika Andrukhiv returned after an injury and immediately scored a goal. How do you rate her performance?

— She still lacks a bit of confidence. She needs to practice and return to optimal condition.

— Several players from the team returned from the national team camp. Were you able to bring all the players to a common denominator in terms of physical readiness before this match?

— We watched the national team games. Some played more, some played less. For two days, we trained with the full squad. This situation is not new. We work so that our players go to the national team. There is a schedule, there is no escaping it. We make equal substitutions, the girls come out and show a good game. There is always room for improvement. The players understand everything and can draw conclusions. We are satisfied with the result.

Mykola Podrannyi (head coach of ZFK "Polissya"):

— It's hard for us to play against such a team. Congratulations to "Metalist 1925" on a well-deserved victory! As for the first half, what we agreed with the girls in the locker room worked. Fatigue set in after the break. We had enough strength until the first goal.

— How do you evaluate the actions of your players in defense?

— The girls are great! I am very grateful to them. We have a very difficult situation with injuries. Our leaders are absent. We considered this game to give a rest to the players who have the most game practice. Due to a large number of losses, it is not very successful to implement this.

Veronika Andrukhiv (midfielder of ZFK "Metalist 1925"):

— We expected the opponent to meet us in a medium block, and maybe even a low one. We knew it wouldn't be easy. We managed to achieve a lot, but also missed a lot. We need to correct everything that didn't work today before the next match.

— How did you feel the support of your teammates and fans?

— Support is always like the twelfth player, without it, football is nothing.

Lesya Olkhova (defender of ZFK "Metalist 1925"):

— We had many opportunities in the first half, but the finishing let us down. During the break, we received instructions that we were able to implement on the field. We made adjustments to our actions and managed to press the opponent.