Former Metalist forward Ruslan Fomin summed up the Ukrainian “classico”, in which Kyiv’s Dynamo drew 1:1 with Donetsk’s Shakhtar in the 11th round of the Ukrainian championship.
Ruslan Fomin— To be honest, it has been a long time since we’ve seen such matches between both giants. We haven’t seen them for several years due to the full-scale invasion of the enemy into Ukraine. This time there was a real Ukrainian “classico”, which brought a lot of positive emotions to everyone. I say this from a fan’s perspective.
— How did this match differ from other encounters?
— There was a high degree of struggle, emotions. All of that is characteristic of a Ukrainian “classico”.
— What was the overall score of the match?
— If we consider the overall picture of the match, then yes. In the first half, Shakhtar looked better — the miners acted more sharply and aggressively. Then in the second half, after the Donetsk team scored in the 47th minute, Dynamo switched on. And it switched on quite powerfully. Shakhtar pushed back, and after Kryskiv’s red card, the home team completely took control.
— Who benefits more from the draw?
— Dynamo, of course. Although at the moment Oleksandriya is in first place (smiles).
— Before the match, there were talks that if Dynamo wins, it will make a serious claim for the championship. Is it too early to talk about this when only a third of the tournament distance has been played?
— Of course, it’s too early. Right now, the gap between Dynamo and Shakhtar is six points, and it’s worth considering that there is still a long way to go in the championship — four rounds of the first round and a full second round, during which there will be another confrontation between the giants. Everything can change during this time. So I’ll repeat: in my opinion, it’s too early to talk about the championship of either opponent. Besides Dynamo and Shakhtar, other teams are also making their claim — both Polissia and Kryvbas are gaining momentum, and LNZ and the already mentioned Oleksandriya are showing themselves. It’s an interesting championship where both Kyiv’s Dynamo and Donetsk’s Shakhtar can lose points.
Vyacheslav Kulchytskyi
