Yevhen Nazarov: "Could have both missed and scored"

Main coach of "Metalist 1925" U-19 Yevhen Nazarov commented on the goalless draw with "Veres" in the 15th round of the youth championship:

— Today the match turned out to be very intense. Was this what you expected to see?

— Yes, we expected this scenario. We saw Veres' last game against Karpaty, which the Rivne team played in a similar manner. There was a battle on all parts of the field, they were lucky to score, but we saw that the team imposes a fight, is not afraid to play through long passes. So we tuned our players not to give up in this element. We also planned to look for our chances through passing play and quick attacks. I won't say everything went perfectly, but the main thing is that we didn't give up in this aspect. I think you also saw that we managed to turn the course of the game until the end and had good chances to score, but unfortunately, we couldn't convert them.

— A draw against a table rival - is it more of a gain or a loss in a game like today's?

— Good question. We could have both conceded and scored.

— Would you agree that despite the scoreline showing zeros, there were plenty of opportunities for both teams today?

— Of course. We play for the fans, football was created for this.

— Do you think that the fact that "Veres" was already finishing their season while "Metalist 1925" still has a match with "Obolonnya" influenced the course of the game? If the opponent gave their all, did your team still have the next match in mind?

— I don't think anyone was saving energy. We definitely played to the fullest, without thinking about the next match. Everyone gave their maximum, I don't think anyone was working in energy-saving mode.