Former head coach of Zorya Anatoliy Chantsev assessed the chances of the Luhansk side to make it to the next round of the Conference League.
Anatoly Chantsev- Frankly speaking, I thought that Zorya would easily guarantee their participation in the spring part of the European Cup. Especially, if we take into account that in November the Luhansk side had to settle twice with Maccabi (Tel Aviv), which had serious preparation problems due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. However, it did not happen as it was thought. It was two defeats in a row from Maccabi that virtually wiped out Zorya's hopes of reaching the next round.
- In these duels with Maccabi there was one scenario, only losing 0:3, the Luhansk side woke up and scored prestige goals, taking advantage of their opponent's fatigue. And yet, what was Zorya lacking to expect more?
- Negative consequences were caused by the chaos on the coaching bridge. The club management especially failed to guess with the invitation of Nenad Lalatovic to the post of head coach, under whose leadership the time for stabilisation of the game was lost.
Secondly, Luhansk failed to find an equivalent replacement for the players who left the team in the summer, we are talking about the rented Kyiv Dynamo players, as well as Rusin and Imerekov. Now Zorya is suffering from the failure of its central defenders, whose positional errors are realised by the opponents. I can't even believe that at such a level one can be so ineffective in defence. But worst of all, the Luhansk side has no performers who would be leaders.
- What can Zorya count on in today's confrontation with the group leader - Gent?
- I am sure that the Citizens have studied Zorya's game and are aware of, figuratively speaking, the passing yard in the centre of defence. Therefore, a lot will depend on how the centre-backs will be backed up, whether goalkeeper Turbayevsky will help them in the fight for top balls. Although it is not excluded that in Ghent they will entrust another goalkeeper with the No. 1 post.
The task for the Luhansk side is to stand firm and wait for their chance during the quick transition from defence to offence. Zorya have a scoring striker - Guerrero - but only if their partners would help him more with targeted passes.
By the way, before the games with Maccabi, the Luhansk side proved that when no one expects them to take off, they can come together and shoot. Remember, at least, Zorya's recent victory over Slavia in the Europa League. So why not jump above their heads once again? A win for Zorya in Belgium today would immediately restore the intrigue in the fight for the top two places in this group.
