Famous Ukrainian coach Oleksandr Babych told us what he expects from the match of the 24th round of the Ukrainian championship between Dnipro-1 and Kharkiv Metalist to be held today in Uzhhorod.
Oleksandr Babych. Photo by Yurii Yuriev- Everyone knows that the current head coach and sporting director of Dnipro-1, Oleksandr Kucher and Yevhen Krasnikov, respectively, joined the Dnipro club from Metalist. They were followed by some players who moved from Metalist to Dnipro-1. Is there any reason to expect an unfair fight in the match of the 24th round between these teams?
- "If there are talks about this outside the football field, then the fight for gold is really expected to be tough and will go on to the last," said Babych. " I remember the match between Metalist and Dnipro-1 in the first round. I watched it carefully. That match was a battle. It was noticeable that the players of the Kharkiv team wanted to prove something to Kucher and Krasnikov. And then Dnipro snatched a narrow victory in the 85th minute.
"Of course, Dnipro-1 cannot lose any more points. But this does not mean that the Dnipro team will take part in games on commission. Kucher's team is of a higher class, and Metalist can win something only through character. In addition, Metalist is now in the relegation zone and every point is worth its weight in gold. The density in the basement of the UPL standings is such that any positive result will immediately improve the situation.
- So we can expect Metalist to try to trip up Dnipro-1?
- Absolutely. "Dnipro-1 is a slightly lower level team than Shakhtar. Therefore, you can play successfully against the Dnipro team and take away precious points from them.
- However, some media outlets and fans will probably try to see something contractual in this match...
- I think football people can easily see what's what in the first 30 minutes of the game. The desire of the players to play, game combinations, emotions, nerves - all this will be in the palm of your hand, it is difficult to fake at this level, when so many cameras are watching everything. Everything will be visible in the replays, each episode will be disassembled into molecules after the final whistle. Playing tricks at the UPL level is a very risky business.
That's why I hope to see spectacular and meaningful football in the Dnipro-1 vs Metalist match, and in general, an impressive intrigue at the finish of the Ukrainian championship, both at the bottom of the table and at the top.
Oleg Semenchenko
