"We will try to repeat or surpass the result of last season"

In the last draw of the Russian football Championship Kaliningrad "Baltika" became the main sensation. Having returned to the RPL from the first league last summer, Andrei Talalaev's wards immediately broke into the leading group and claimed medals almost until the end of the season. They started losing a lot of points in recent rounds and eventually dropped to sixth place, but this result was the best in the club's history.

They started the new season with a 1-2 away defeat to CSKA Moscow in the first round of the championship. A few days later, one of the leaders of Baltika, the main goalkeeper Maxim Borisko, joined the army. Maxim Latyshonok, who previously also played in Kaliningrad, but left for Zenit St. Petersburg two years ago, was hired in his place. In an interview with Izvestia, Baltika midfielder Nikolai Titkov commented on the unsuccessful start of the season and Borisko's departure, and also assessed the chances of repeating the result of the last championship.

— Why did Baltika quickly lose the advantage in the first round match against CSKA?

— We gave away the initiative, conceded two unnecessary goals. Basically, it was in the second half of the first half that the opponent was allowed to do what he wanted. Hence his two goals. We could have equalized after the break, we had good opportunities for that, but we didn't use them. In general, they themselves are to blame for this defeat.

— Last season, Baltika rarely gave the initiative. Why did this happen now?

— We probably played it wrong in some moments. We left free zones for the opponent, from which he was able to score for us.

— How much impact will the transfer of your main goalkeeper Maxim Borisko have on Baltika?

— Maxim is an excellent goalkeeper, one of the leaders of our team. He did a lot for the success of last season. And now we saw in the match against CSKA how he saved us. So it won't be easy without him, but we'll try to cope. The club has quality goalkeepers to replace him.

— Do you have a feeling that after the successful last championship, the opponents have become more serious about your team?

— It is clear that that success is difficult to repeat. But we will try our best. In the next game against Dynamo Moscow, we will try to improve and achieve victory.

— Is there a chance to repeat the success? Or is the main thing now not to drop too much compared to last season's sixth place?

— In any case, we will do everything to rehabilitate ourselves for the defeat in the first round and rise higher in the table. Of course, we are determined to at least perform as well as last season, and better yet, finish above sixth place.

— Is the team ready for this?

— Basically, last season we proved that we can play on equal terms with any opponent. Yes, we didn't always manage to win, sometimes we lost or drew because of goals conceded in the last minutes. There was an unsuccessful match against CSKA this season. But the main thing for us is to show the game, thanks to which we led in this meeting and created chances in the second half. It is necessary to demonstrate from the first to the last minute the character that we had last season, to do what the head coach requires. And then we will be able to please our fans as well.