Famous Ukrainian coach and now expert Oleg Fedorchuk shared his impressions from the confrontations in Lviv and Zhytomyr, the results of which saw “Dynamo” and “Shakhtar” advance to the final of the Ukrainian Cup.
Oleg Fedorchuk— I caught myself thinking that “Bukovyna” scored too early against “Dynamo”, which clearly overestimated its abilities. If the Chernivtsi team had done it at the beginning of the second half, their chances for a positive outcome would have significantly increased. Because then it would have been more difficult for the Kyiv team to get rid of the illusion that they could still overpower their second-league opponent. The break turned out to be timely, during which the Kyiv coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi organized a “flight analysis”, reaching out to his players that with such an attitude, they would not avoid troubles. After the substitutions, the Dynamo players quite quickly “woke up”.
— By the way, for this, Shovkovskyi had to send seemingly untouchable Andriy Yarmolenko to the bench.
— This is another indication that the coach is confident in his abilities. It’s no secret that recently Yarmolenko has been more focused on attack and does not always manage to contribute defensively. Since it was necessary to pick up the pace with mobile movements, mobile Kabayev and Vanat were brought into the action. Everything quickly fell into place, especially since the Bukovyna goalkeeper Kanevtsiv was performing uncertainly. Despite the painful defeat of 1:4, credit should be given to Hryhoriy Churilov’s team, who looked worthy in the club’s first-ever cup semifinal.
— Unlike the confrontation in Lviv, fans who came to the stadium in Zhytomyr had to wait 113 minutes for a goal.
— Nevertheless, “Polissya” and “Shakhtar” are approximately equal in strength among the UPL teams, moreover, the Polissians are an uncomfortable opponent for the “miners”, which was also evident in the actions of the match participants. No one took many risks, however, it seemed that the hosts prematurely began to rely on a series of post-match penalties. But despite playing conservatively, in the final moments of extra time they made a positional mistake on the left flank of their defense and had to concede 0:1.
— And although they say that winners are not judged, the “miners” clearly lacked team leaders, particularly Sudakov.
— I agree, Heorhii played too much of his own game, posing little threat to the possession of the Polissians. Perhaps he was saving his strength for the next Classic, because on April 26, “Shakhtar” must win against “Dynamo” to keep their hopes for the championship title.
— By the way, will Shakhtar have less time to prepare for the match against the Kyiv team somehow affect the flow of events?
— You know, I would point out another nuance: in the last round of the UPL, Dynamo easily defeated “Obolon”, while “Shakhtar”, despite all efforts, suffered a painful defeat from “Kolosos”. So somewhere the advantage in psychological preparation will be on the side of the Kyiv team. As for your question, “miners” will manage to recover and come to the battle in Lviv in fighting shape. The other side is that unlike “Shakhtar”, a draw would suit the Kyiv team, so they may have different tactical schemes in mind.
Nonetheless, I assess the chances of the opponents as 50 to 50. As for another “classic” — in the Ukrainian Cup final, it will be in the spotlight closer to mid-May.
