On Thursday, February 6, Kyiv’s «Dynamo» played another control match during their Turkish training camp. The opponent of Oleksandr Shovkovskyi’s team was the North Macedonian club «Shkendija» from the city of Tetovo.
Photo: @fcshkendijaControl match
«DYNAMO» (Kyiv, Ukraine) —\u2009«SHKENDIJA» (Tetovo, North Macedonia) —\u20093:2 (1:0)
Goals: Yarmolenko (38), Vanat (78, 85) — Dyachuk (68, own goal), F.Ramadani (87)
«Dynamo»: 35.Neshcheret (71.Ignatenko, 46), 3.Dyachuk (44.Bilovar, 33), 4.Popov (3.Dyachuk, 62), 6.Braharu (91.Mykhailenko, 46), 7.Yarmolenko (C) (76.Pikhальonok, 46), 10.Pashko (11.Vanat, 46), 20.Bilyi (15.Rubchynskyi, 46), 22.Kabaev (9.Voloshin, 46), 24.Tymchyk (44.Herych, 46), 45.Bragaru (2.Vivcharenko, 46), 99.Zadorozhnyi (39.Herrero, 46)
«Shkendija» (starting lineup): 25.Amzai, 22.Merkhani, 5.Tsake, 85.Adili, 2.Trumchi, 6.Alhassan, 28.Kaka, 4.R.Ramadani, 77.Latifi, 17.Shala, 7.Ibraimi (C)
The match took place in wonderful weather. Warm, dry, and bright pre-sunset sun. Oleksandr Shovkovskyi fielded another version of the experimental lineup, which featured the super-experienced Yarmolenko alongside very young players Pashko, Bilyi, and Zadorozhnyi.
Right at the start of the game, the latter earned a dangerous free kick, which Braharu struggled to parry from Amzai. In the 11th minute, Yarmolenko, who had played as one of the center-backs from the first minutes, shot with his right foot from 20 meters — the ball flew over the right top corner. In the 32nd minute, after a dangerous cross from Kabaev, Zadorozhnyi attempted to redirect the ball at the near post but missed the target. Later, on the opposite flank, Pashko made a decent entry into the penalty area but failed to convert the ball into the net on two occasions. In the 38th minute, the score was opened. Maksym Braharu, who was this time playing as a left back, crossed into the penalty area, where Andriy Yarmolenko received the ball with his back to the goal and, without turning around, redirected it into the left corner of the goal with his heel. 1:0. Overall, the game was quite slow and not very creative from both sides.
After the break, more experienced players replaced the young ones on the field, and the game livened up a bit. At the very least, the Dynamo players immediately received some yellow cards. The «professional experiments» continued. Voloshin played left in defense, while Vanat was ahead of him in midfield. Generally, the Kyivans held the initiative, but unexpectedly the score equalized: in the 68th minute, Maksym Dyachuk headed the ball into the near top corner after a cross from the left. 1:1. However, the draw did not last long on the scoreboard. In the 78th minute, Vladyslav Vanat received a penetrating pass into the penalty area from Rubchynskyi, danced past almost the entire opponent's defense, and scored with precision. 2:1. Just a few minutes later, Rubchynskyi crossed from the right flank into the center of the penalty area, where Pikhальonok mishandled the ball, which bounced closer to the goal to Vladyslav Vanat, who scored with a powerful shot on his first touch. 3:1. However, at the end of the match, Ramadani (the one who did not play for «Dynamo») capitalized on Dyachuk’s mistake and reduced the deficit. 3:2.
The next friendly match for «Dynamo» will be on Monday, February 10, against Danish «Esbjerg».
Andriy KRAVCHUK
