Leonid Kuchuk: “An away goal means much”

After Lokomotiv and Apollon drew level 1:1 at the GPS Stadium in Nicosia, the visitors’ head coach Leonid Kuchuk told the post-match press-conference the game was difficult and explained how the red cards influenced the run of play.

- How happy are you with the result, considering Lokomotiv played so differently after half-time?
- It’s the first time in my career my team is down two men. The opponents got a tremendous advantage and were able to use it. But I’m happy that we scored. An away goal is often decisive and means much.

- What happened in the last minutes of the second half? Did your team get tired or did you underestimate the opponents?
- No, we knew their strength. Last year the Cypriotes knocked out Nice in the qualifications and looked good at the group stage. They are a hard nut so there was no underestimation. It’s our first game, and the schedule is pretty tight so we have to rotate the players. This is partly why the game was so difficult for us.

- How did the ejections influence the play?
- Any ejection influences the play and the game on the whole. The forced substitutions also had their say. Two of our players couldn’t go on: Dmitriy Tarasov and Alan Kasaev. Of course it made a serious impact. If we talk about the red cards, we started playing lower after the first one and the opponents organized many counter-attacks we were trying to respond.

- Lokomotiv were the favourites before this game. Now that the game has finished, what are the chances that you will go further in the tournament?
- I’m not going to calculate the chances. Nothing’s clear yet. The return game in Moscow will give answers to all of the questions, and you bet we will be preparing for it just as hard as we did for this match.