Oleksandr Kosenko: “In terms of content, I liked our second match with the Portuguese more”

06.12.2018 20:01

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

Futsal head coach of Ukraine Oleksandr Kosenko praised the performance of his teammates in friendly matches against Portugal.

This week, the blue and yellows held two sparring matches against Portugal in the city of Rio Mayor. AND firstand another the match ended in a draw. After arriving home, the coach of our team Alexander Kosenko in an interview the press service of the Futsal Association of Ukraine shared his impressions of the last gathering.

— Two away clashes with the European champions ended in a draw for our team. How would you rate such a result?

- In terms of content, I liked the second match better. At times we looked very good. Of course, the goal was not enough, although we had quite good opportunities for that. The boys believed that they could not only play with the champions on equal terms, but also outperform them in certain components of the game. The first match was for the Portuguese. First of all - on the initiative. In the second meeting we did not concede anything, and sometimes we were better than the opponent.

— The first match was difficult for our team, but the boys came back at the end of the meeting. What made them break the course of the match?

- First of all, the goals scored helped us to change the course of the match. We had opportunities before that. After a successful combination, we hit the opponent's goal for the first time, and then the five of us realized the majority, making the score equal. However, I repeat, the content of our game I liked the second match much more.

— Both matches were played by Dmitry Litvinenko. Tell me, why did Kirill Tsipun not get playing time this time?

- At training Kirill felt discomfort, and we didn't involve him in the second meeting not to worsen his condition. I will note that in the second match on the last frontier the captain of team Litvinenko played perfectly.

— The matches with Portugal became the first in the national team for Sergei Malyshko. How would you rate his game?

- Serhiy joined the team quite well, fulfilled the requirements of the coaching staff. All is well. For him, these are just debut matches. Now we need to move on.

— On December 12, the qualifying and the main rounds of selection for the 2020 World Cup will be held. It is already known that one of the main round tournaments will be held in Ukraine. How important is it for our team to hold a home selection phase?

- We were the initiators of this and want to play at home with our own fans. We want to see futsal in Ukraine and develop it. There was such an initiative, and we are always happy to play in Ukraine. Unfortunately, to meet in our country with Portugal did not work, but there were objective reasons for this. We do everything in our power to make Ukrainian spectators watch the national team's matches. We hope for the enthusiastic support of our fans in the next home meetings.