On Friday, Dynamo will play a Ukrainian derby against Shakhtar. The match will be very important for the capital's team and should confirm their ambitions to fight for the championship this season.
Mircea Lucescu. Photo by Yuriy YurievIn the previous round, Kyiv's main striker Vladyslav Vanat was sent off and will be banned for the match against Shakhtar. Mircea Lucescu will face a very difficult question: who will play in the attack in such an important match?
"Dynamo started the new season with a new striker. It was a bit risky from the start. No one is immune to injuries or a drop in form. Vanat still had spring and summer stories related to disqualifications. Today's suspension was not something particularly unexpected. Another striker was desperately needed.
Vladyslav Supryaga has not played in official matches for a long time. No one can guarantee whether he will be able to succeed in professional football at all. In the summer, Lucescu made Benito a reserve forward. The Nigerian had been in the team's system for a long time. Last spring, he got a chance in the first team as a right midfielder. In the summer, he was reclassified as a forward, who is supposed to replace Vanat and come on at the end of the game. The Nigerian even scored one goal for Vorskla. He started against Obolon in the Ukrainian Cup, but showed nothing.
Knowing Lucescu's conservatism, I have no doubt that the Nigerian international will start against Shakhtar.
In the Dynamo youth team, 17-year-old Matvey Ponomarenko plays in the attack. He is currently the top scorer in the U-19 championship. He scored 13 goals in 12 matches. The potential of the native of Myronivka is obvious. I understand that now Matvey may not be physically and psychologically ready for adult football. But I had to help him overcome this distance. 5, 10 or 15 minutes for the first team would have been very beneficial to Ponomarenko's development. There would have been an understanding of what he needed to work on and what he should strive for. Because it turns out that he scores a double in almost every match, but does not get a chance in the first team. All this can cause demotivation.
My point is that if Ponomarenko had been allowed to join the first team step by step, Vanat's suspension would not have become such an acute problem for Dynamo. It is unlikely that Matvey would have played worse than Benito. Plus, he would have gained a lot of experience for his further development. It is unlikely that Ponomarenko is ready to be successful in his first official match at the adult level immediately against Shakhtar.
The worst-case scenario in this situation is that Ponomarenko is called up to the first team and does not play an important match against U-19 champions Shakhtar, but plays 5-10 minutes for the first team. It is clear that the Shakhtar need to win to confirm their ambitions in the youth championship. But youth football exists only to develop players for the adult game. Vladyslav Gerich has a lot to rehabilitate and prove.
I'll bet that Matvey will play in both matches. For the youth team in the opening game (there is a lot at stake), and then he will get his time as a substitute in the match between the adult teams.
Serhii Tyshchenko
