Donetsk Shakhtar defender Valeriy Bondar commented on his team's 3-0 victory over Kyiv Dynamo in the Ukrainian Cup Round of 16 match held at the Arena Lviv. In a conversation with Sport RBC.UA journalist Kateryna Ursati, conducted as part of a media tour organized on behalf of FC Dynamo, the Pitmen player assessed the course of the match, the opponent's first-half sending-off, and the significance of the triumph for the team against the backdrop of recent results.
"It is very hard to play with ten men"
In the middle of the first half, Dynamo were left down to ten men: match referee Viktor Kopiyevsky showed a straight red card to Taras Mykhavko for a foul against Oleh Ocheretko. Bondar noted that after this, the Kyiv side built a tight defense, and breaking it down was extremely difficult. "I want to give a lot of respect to Dynamo. They defended very well. It is very hard to play when you are down to ten men. Even when it's a derby like Shakhtar vs Dynamo. It is very difficult to break down the defense. I think this sending-off helped somewhat with the scoreline at the end of the match," the defender emphasized.
Parallel with Inter and questions about VAR
The player recalled a similar incident from the recent UEFA Champions League main stage match against AC Milan's Inter, in which Alessandro Bastoni also received a straight red card for hitting an opponent in the face. According to Bondar, Mykhavko "just pushed our player in the face with his hands," while a similar situation occurred with Jean Pedrozo, who attacked a Chornomorets player. "Now everyone sees it, there is VAR, you have to be cautious. Why did the referee give a yellow card to our player? He probably thought there was some pushing. But there can be no complaints about the referee today," he added.
Derby emotions as part of the spectacle
Commenting on the tension level in the match, Bondar noted that the emotional nature of the clash between Shakhtar and Dynamo adds interest to these games. "I think the guys from Dynamo were more angry at our legionnaires. When there are such emotions, it's probably more interesting for you to watch the matches. Yesterday, for example, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray had a fight. That's interesting to watch, so it will be interesting for us next time," the defender said, citing a recent incident in the Turkish derby.
The importance of the victory after two defeats
Concluding the conversation, the footballer emphasized the special importance of today's triumph for the Pitmen against the backdrop of recent failures. "It's always cool to win a derby, no matter the score. After two unsuccessful matches, it was very important for us to return to this winning path. I think today's victory is deserved," Bondar summed up.
It is noted that the material was prepared based on the results of a media tour organized by FC Dynamo (Kyiv) with the support of the title sponsor GGBET.
