Oleg Shaitanov: "I told the girls before the fights in Serbia that the main task of our team is to beat the opponent in futsal"

05.10.2019 15:42

Photo by Pavlo Kubanov

The head coach of the women's national team of Ukraine futsal Oleg Shaitanov in interview with the AFU press service summarized the two matches in Serbia and spoke about the upcoming plans of the national team.

— Oleg Mykolayovych, how would you evaluate the start of the season for the national team of Ukraine?

- In general, I was satisfied with the first training camp and friendly matches of the team. It was obvious that after a seven-month break, the girls missed the national team. We spent a few days in one breath at the training camp in Brovary and in two matches we defeated Serbia with a total score of 12: 0. As for devotion, I can't complain to any of the girls about that.

We had a good first meeting. The most important thing is that my wards did not allow the opponent to impose his game. Thanks to the combined actions, speed and confidence we managed to win convincingly.

Before the second match, I emphasized that it would be different. We talked about the settings for the fight after the result 7:0, however, unfortunately, I could not reach the girls to make the level of our game better. Yes, we won a dry victory - 5:0, but in terms of organization, the game looked worse than the previous match. But, again, I'm generally pleased with this voyage.

The Premier League season will begin in a week and the girls will play for their teams. I wished them good results and reminded that the Ukrainian national team starts in clubs.

— In both meetings, you easily defeated the Serbian national team. Assess the overall level of the opponent.

- We wanted to play with an athletic team that is being pushed forward by the stands.

Serbian women's futsal is making its first steps. I told the girls before the matches that the main task of our team will be to beat the opponent in futsal. It is difficult to play matches with such opponents in the way they are trying to impose.

The team had a good start. We completely controlled the course of the game, and the girls almost did not allow the Serbs to create moments at our goal. In the second match we looked a bit uncollected and made mistakes in simple situations. The score was quite comfortable, as we found our moments through individual action, but the level of our game, the second match was worse than the previous one.

— In these matches you played three fours. What was the reason for this decision?

- Frankly, I do not like to play three fours. However, given that our opponent was not top-level, I can say that for these meetings, this option was optimal. This decision paid off, the girls maintained a high pace of the game, and all received the same amount of time on the court.

— How satisfied are you with the debut of the newcomers?

- The girls played well. Of course, there will always be mistakes. In the future, a lot depends on them, starting from the attitude to themselves and their business and ending with the level of the game in training and in official matches. There are no questions about their desire to work.

I will add that we have a fairly large selection of station wagons, unlike goalkeepers. Kislova proved to be quite good. Victoria's level of play allows her to claim the position of goalkeeper in our team.

- The national team of Ukraine will play the next matches in a month in Slovakia. How do you think these matches will be different from last year's games in Uzhgorod?

- Of course, our main goal will be victories. How different will these meetings be? There are many matches, the course of which depends on our team, its settings for the game and the realization of their moments. If we approach these confrontations in good condition and play futsal, it is possible that they will not be very different from last year's matches with Slovakia.