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Taras Stepanenko: Our converting has let us down a little

07-09-10 22:14:29

Taras Stepanenko, the captain of Ukraine U-21 squad, granted an interview to FC Shakhtar press office right after the match against Slovenia.

- Taras, today, the team was provided with a goal to win the tie vs. Slovenia in order to feel comfortable with the draw. What prevented you from achieving the necessary result?
- Our converting of goal scoring opportunities has let us down a little. Today, we have created some really good moments - there were plenty of them! Personally, I think that one scored goal in such game would have solved everything in our favor. But nothing tragical has happened today; at least we have not conceded a goal ourselves.

- You had a chance in this game to play as a central defender. Would it be true to say that today you fully complied with the coach’s instructions while playing this position?
- Well, it is up to Pavel Yakovenko to evaluate my performance but I have tried to show everything that I could do at this position. Then again, we managed to keep a clean sheet, so in general, I think, everything has worked out well.

- How do you evaluate the overall display by Chesnakov and Vitsents at your position in the midfield?
- The whole team played well. Perhaps, in the actions of Vitalik there was some kind of little, visible nervousness, but it can be understood, still he is a very responsible player, and, perhaps, he got a bit too nervous. Vitsenets is a player who can not only work hard in defense, but he can also be a creative player when it comes to attacking movements. Maybe, today, not everything has been of the highest possible quality that we are capable of but overall, everybody worked hard on the pitch and tried to show their best.

- What did Pavel Yakovenko say after the final whistle?
- Congratulated lads on qualifying from the group stage. Obviously there was a little negative feeling afterwards because we wanted to be among the seeded teams in the draw ... he also wished good luck.