Former midfielder of Kyiv’s «Dynamo» Sergiy Mizin shared what he remembered from the match of the 26th round of the Ukrainian championship «Shakhtar» — «Dynamo».
— Since the intrigue kept everyone in suspense until the final whistle, I am convinced that the football fans who were at the stadium or limited themselves to the television broadcast were satisfied.
Of course, as a former Dynamo player, I watched the actions of the Kyiv team more critically and didn’t like that they lacked concentration at the beginning. This led to two conceded goals due to unfortunate mistakes in defense. This cannot help but worry, as it is not the first time the team suffers from individual mistakes by Mykhavko and Neshcheret. Ultimately, there were also mistakes in support.
— When the score became — 2:0 in favor of the «miners», did doubts arise that everything would end badly for the Dynamo players?
— Such thoughts arose, but I didn’t believe that the Dynamo players, who delighted with stability on the domestic arena, confidence in their own abilities, would resign and not take care of correcting the situation. Especially since Yarmolenko, Popov, and Kabayev were on the field, who always fight until the end.
Secondly, there were doubts that the «miners» could, as they say, carry out the entire match in one breath. After all, compared to the Kyiv players, they had less time to prepare for the Classic, and a few days ago there was no shortage of overtime in the cup confrontation with «Polissya».
And when immediately after the break, the Dynamo players increased their movements, became more active in the transitional phase, utilized runs on the flanks, it became clear that the nominal hosts could not keep up with the pace of events on the field.
— Nevertheless, Kabayev scored the saving goal only in added time; if this hadn’t happened, would it have been unfair?
— Of course, at least, the Dynamo players earned a draw. The first half was for the «miners», but after the «aircraft analysis» during the break, the Kyiv team achieved a breakthrough, their dominance raised no doubts, but unfortunately, with the aim, not everything was alright. However, for their sharpness in attack and fighting spirit, they were rewarded. For me, those four points ahead of the nearest pursuer — «Oleksandriya» — should be enough to return from a position of strength for the championship title.
— Who do you think was the best player of the match?
— I would give preference to Yarmolenko. Yes, he left the field without his goal, but he was a true leader, led his teammates, and I am convinced that his presence helped the Dynamo players earn a valuable point.
