DINAMO MINSK vs. TRAKTOR – 4:2. Press-conference after the match

Valery Belousov, Traktor head coach:
- We were good in the first two periods. Before the third I asked the players to be very focused, but unfortunately a penalty and subsequent goal lost it for us. If we want to earn victories, we have to be concentrated.

Lyubomir Pokovic, acting Dinamo head coach:
- We knew that Traktor has been on a roll recently. They began tonight's match in the same vein - we could not get out of our own zone at times. Then, however, we evened the game out, but got a little unlucky and had to catch up, which we finally did. This is a great victory, and we value it a lot.

Question to Pokovic: Dinamo was victorious in three straight games for the first time in the season. What's the trick?
Pokovic: There is no trick, we won the end of the third period.

Question to Pokovic: Please share with us your thoughts on signing Richard Lintner.
Pokovic: We signed him because we want our young D-men to get more experienced, and Lintner can help us with this. Richard already played in Minsk, and despite a rather modest salary, he still wanted to return. We expect him to help our young players; more, he has got great shooting skills.

Question to Pokovic: And yet he occupies someone's place on the roster...
Pokovic: We can swap the D-men during the game now. We used to have only three pairs, so we could not rotate the defensemen; now we have that opportunity.

Question to Pokovic: Dinamo is going on the road to face some very tough competition. How much points do you want to bring back to Minsk?
Pokovic: It's hard to say. Winning two or three games would be great. We will see how it plays out.

Question to Pokovic: CEO of the team had a meeting with you after the match. Did he tell you that the word 'acting' from your title has been removed?
Pokovic: No, it's not about that. We congratulated each other on the victory. The specifics of my title do not make any difference to me.

Question to Pokovic: One of the members of the coaching staff, Petr Jaros, is leaving the team. Is anyone going to replace him?
Pokovic: It was not a surprise for us. This decision has been made because of his personal problems. We thought about replacing him with somebody else, but it's still early to say.

Question to Pokovic: Aleksandr Kitarov scored the winning goal of the game. Were you personally happy for him?
Pokovic: I don't think it matters who exactly scores the goals. Nonetheless, the way Kitarov has been playing lately, he deserved this goal.

Question to Pokovic: The longer the winning streak goes, the stronger will be the sting of an eventual defeat. Are you ready for something like this?
Pokovic: I'm 53, and I have seen a lot. Losing is a part of every sport.