Mladen Bartulovich: "We showed on the football field that we are the better team"

Everything that was said at the press conference after the completion of the match of the 15th round of the UPL against "Veres" by the head coach of "Metalist 1925" Mladen Bartulovich:

— First of all, I am glad that the fate of this match was decided only on the football field. Secondly, I am very pleased with the victory - confident and well-deserved. And we showed on the football field that we are the better team today.

— There was a substitution of Krupsky during the break. What happened to him?

— Yes, it was a forced substitution because he was feeling unwell during the break. He asked for a substitution. Hopefully, nothing serious and he will be able to help us in the upcoming matches.

— Today's victory brought you closer to the top positions. Are you thinking about competing for medals?

— I always say that we are moving step by step. We have a very important match against "Kudrivka" on Saturday. And no less difficult than today's match against "Veres". We are preparing for this match. We don't look too far ahead yet.

— You said it was a tough game, although it didn't look like it from the stands?

— It's always tough to play at this stadium. This is probably the first victory of "Metalist 1925" over "Veres" here. This also shows what a good game my team played today. I am very grateful to them for this game and for their attitude.

— In the context of the standings and the Ukrainian Cup: are there priorities?

— Every match is a priority for us. We want to win every match. That's how we prepare. The next match is against "Kudrivka", then the cup. And we move on like this.

— Itodo scored a hat-trick today, and Mba came on as a substitute and also scored. How do you rate the performance of the forwards?

— That's their job. I believe a lot in Itodo and Mba. I've already said that Itodo can score a lot - he showed it today. I hope these goals will give him confidence and he will score even more in the upcoming matches.

— Was there additional motivation considering all the talks before the match?

— If I say there wasn't, it would be untrue. Of course, there was additional motivation. Not only because of those talks, but also because of our tournament position. We really needed this victory. We achieved it and are very happy.