Yaroslav Askarov and Kirill Marchenko speak after playing Avangard

Yaroslav Askarov:

- In comparison to last season's match against Sochi, how difficult was it for you today?

- It was tougher, because I didn't start the game. Avangard are stronger than Sochi too. Overall I have good impressions from the match, we showed our character to make a comeback. Unfortunately, though, we lost.

- How is the season going so far?

- Everything is fine. I need to be ready to play.

- During such a big game, how difficult is it to appear as a substitute goalkeeper?

- It was really tough, I felt nervous. It's never easy to be thrown into a match cold. If you are the starting goalkeeper, you feel differently during the pre-match warm-ups. Nevertheless, after I made a few saves, I felt comfortable.

- Avangard only had four shots on target during the third period.

- It is difficult to play when the opponents don't shoot a lot. I tried to keep my concentration, but Avangard managed to score on the counter-attack. We will analyse what happened in that incident.

Kirill Marchenko:

- Why has your performance level dropped at the start of this season compared to the previous campaign? Is it down to your psychology?

- Yes, I think there is a psychological factor here. I need to be more calm with my opportunities to score and everything will be fine.

- SKA applied overwhelming pressure on Avangard in the third period.

- As I have already said, we need to be calmer when presented with chances to score goals. I had a big opportunity when I couldn't pass the puck into the open goal. With time, it will come.