Ilya Krupsky: "I want to dedicate this goal to my mom"

Defender of "Kharkiv" Illya Krupsky shared his emotions after the victory over "Obolonnya" in a live broadcast on UPL TV, talked about his goal, which was the second in his professional career, and evaluated the changes in the team after the match with "Polissya":

— Illya, today you scored your second goal in your professional career. If we counted correctly. Is that so?

— Yes, that's right. And it's the second goal again against "Obolon". The first one was scored against "Vorskla".

— Is this something personal?

— Well, for me, it's probably a good opponent.

— The start of today's match was crucial, especially the first six to eight minutes. Did you feel that after such a start you couldn't let the game slip away?

— Of course. We scored from a penalty, then there was a red card. We managed to start the game very well. Actually, that's what we wanted. Mladen Bartulovich told us that such teams need to be closed down in the first half, so it would be easier later. Because, as we saw in the second half, they practically didn't allow us to create anything. There was a crossbar, but essentially, we didn't score that goal. Of course, we wanted to score more, but it didn't work out. At the same time, credit should be given to "Obolon". Defending with nine players for almost the entire game is also not easy. For everyone in the Premier League, "Obolon" is a tough opponent: they are hard to score against, hard to break down their defense. But today we succeeded, and very well at that. So, congratulations to everyone on the victory.

— I would like to talk more about your goal. Was it a planned combination? On one hand, yes, but on the other hand, there wasn't much resistance against you — you had enough time to prepare for the shot.

— We practiced this moment yesterday on set pieces. We planned that I would shoot in one touch. But it turned out that I assessed the situation and saw that there was only one defender left. In principle, everything worked out well: I hit the target and scored. I am very happy. I want to dedicate this goal to my mom because tomorrow is her birthday. It's a little gift. I am happy, and I am sure my family is very happy too. And I am also happy that I finally scored my debut goal for "Kharkiv".

— "Kharkiv" is also happy now. After the defeat in Zhytomyr, is there a feeling that the team has regrouped, felt its potential, and rebuilt? Today it is already a team that is seen as a contender for high positions not only in terms of squad but also in terms of play.

— Of course. That match with "Polissya" gave us the opportunity to rethink what had happened before. I believe that we played very well against "Shakhtar". We could have won or drawn. And after the defeat to "Polissya," it's good that at the start of the season we got this kind of wake-up call that shook us a bit. As we see now, the team is really acting differently — more sharply, more attacking. This is what we lacked last season. We already have that experience, so we want to continue in the same spirit. Next, we have a good opponent waiting for us — "Kryvbas". We need to win and rise higher and higher.