Famous Ukrainian coach Yuriy Virt analyzed the game of the second qualifying round of the Conference League Polissya vs. Olympia (1-2).
- Yuriy Mykolayovych, do you agree that the score in yesterday's match, given the course of the game, was not fair?
- Definitely not. Compared to the first game, in the second match we saw a much higher quality of play from Polissia, you could see the motivation, the charge for the result, the dedication. Actually, this is probably why Bohdan Kushnirenko scored such a quick goal in the first minute, but... Zhytomyr were unlucky somewhere.
However, I liked the football played by Polissya. Imad Ashour's wards were not afraid of the opponent and tried to play aggressively, on the attack, but the realization failed. It is also worth saying frankly that there were many individual mistakes from the Polissia players, and they became decisive and affected the final result.
- After the game, both Polissia head coach Ashur, Oleksandr Usyk, and the Wolves' fans unanimously said that the referee Milanovic did not referee very well and contributed to Olimpiya's victory. What do you think of the Serbian's level of refereeing?
- I didn't see any gross mistakes on his part. We shouldn't justify the defeat by some kind of bad refereeing. It was not biased, in my opinion, and did not affect the result. You need to understand yourself.
- Okay, then let's analyze the players. Who would you single out personally from the Polissia team following the results of yesterday's match?
- I will single out Kushnirenko. He scored a goal and generally showed a good game during the time he was on the field, he was active. I would also mention Oleksandr Nazarenko. He was also active, and it was his flank that showed the most creativity and sharpness in the Polischuks' attack. If I were to form the top three, I would add Oleksiy Hutsulyak to Kushnirenko and Nazarenko.
- In the summer, Polissia was quite active in the transfer market. They acquired a whole new team, that is, 11 players. A clear hint that Hennadii Butkevych and Imad Ashur are going to fight not just for places in European competitions, but for medals.
- And so it is. The vice president of Polissya Volodymyr Teslya openly said in an interview that he wanted to hear the Champions League anthem in Zhytomyr. So what else is there to talk about? (Laughs.) I have no doubt that Polissia will fight for a place in the top three in the new season and I predict that they will eventually win bronze medals. And this will be a good result.
Gennadiy Butkevych's club has carried out a very powerful transfer campaign. Even if the names of Polissia's legionnaires are not too loud. I'm talking about the striker Admir Bristric, who was loaned from the same Olympia, another striker Dimitar Traikov and Georgian defender Giorgi Maisuradze.
- "Polissya" was decently "plundered" the now-deceased Dnipro-1.
- Sarapiy, Hutsulyak, Volynets and Babenko are well-known names in Ukraine. And this is a very high-quality reinforcement for Polissia. These guys can play right away. Another great addition to the defense is the signing of Danylo Beskorovainyi. It's a pity that he got injured and is out for a long time. In general, Butkevych, for his part, did everything to ensure that the team fought for medals. Now it's up to the players, and the result depends on them and the coach. But the most important transfer is the new coach Imad Ashour.
- Speaking of Mr. Ashur. Won't Butkevych ask him to leave if Imad doesn't produce results? Last season, Yuriy Kalytyntsev 'flew out' of the club because Polissia failed in the beginning of the second round.
- For me, Ashur's appointment as head coach of Polissia came as a bit of a surprise, but rumors that he would be joining the Zhytomyr team had been circulating for months before his official presentation. The coach is young, ambitious, the president trusts him, otherwise he would not have started working with him, but... If Ashur does not produce results, he can be quickly fired. I do not exclude this option.
Viktor Hlukhenkyi