Former Dynamo and Ukraine national team coach Jozsef Szabo shared his prediction for the Ukrainian Cup semi-final match between Polissia and Vorskla.
Jozsef Szabo"For me, this game is very difficult in terms of its pre-match analysis. Zhytomyr are playing terribly now, after the winter break. Poltava are rocking like a boat in a storm. I have no idea what to expect from this match.
It's clear that neither Polissia nor Vorskla will finish in the top four, I think. That is, they will not make it to the European Cups through the championship. So, winning the Cup is their only chance to cut a window to Europe.
"Vorskla lost to Dynamo last week (1-5), but I think they lost not so much on the pitch as psychologically. We couldn't concentrate for the four or five hours that the match lasted because of those damn air raids in Poltava. Of course, they are broken somewhere now, let's say, after the defeat. Therefore, Polissia has a certain advantage, although they also suffered a fiasco at the hands of Chornomorets in the league (1-4).
After Yurii Kalytvintsev left Polissia Yuriy Kalytvintsev left, the team fell apart. It's hard for me to say what's going on inside the club, but something is definitely wrong. With all due respect to Shyshchenko, it's hard for a young specialist to keep a team like Polissia, which declares that it will fight for both the Cup and medals. I don't want to offend Serhii in any way, no. This is just my opinion. He was a very good player, because bad players don't become the best scorers in the league, but as a coach, he is still learning to work in such extreme conditions when you need to shake up the players.
I do not rule out the possibility that we will witness a draw in normal time. For some reason, I feel that we will see a defensive model of play from both teams. I think everything in Zhytomyr will be decided in a penalty shootout," said Sabo.
