Former player of the Ukrainian national team Ivan Hetsko shared his impressions of the matches of the penultimate, 29th round of the Ukrainian championship, which took place last weekend.
Ivan Hetsko— In this round, the most attention was drawn to the match in Odesa, the result of which could define both the champion and the team that would have to leave the Premier League at the end of the 2024/25 season — "Chornomorets" — "Dynamo" (Kyiv). After a 1:1 draw, that's exactly what happened...
— Everyone knew that this match was the last chance for "Chornomorets" to cling to the possibility of reaching the playoff zone. But it also had another side, since everyone understood that the opponent was too serious — the league leader, Kyiv's "Dynamo". It was well known that in the event of a draw, the Dynamo players would become champions.
But at the same time, everyone was expecting a good game, and that's exactly what happened in reality. There were good speeds, there was commitment. If you didn't know that "Chornomorets" was in last place, no one would even be able to say that they could "relegate" based on the game they showed in the Sunday match against Kyiv. That's why there was an unpleasant aftertaste.
It's unclear why it happened this way. Perhaps "Chornomorets"' good game was related to the fact that for the first time in more than three years, there were fans in the stands who gave some kind of impulse. Thanks to this, the Odesa team ran and even could have scored. And at the end of the match, they had a chance to do it again when the "Chornomorets" player headed the ball at a score of 1:1. If he had hit the far "nine" — it could have been a miracle. Unfortunately, it did not happen.
— Did "Dynamo" win the championship deservedly?
— I believe so. After all, the Dynamo players did not lose a single match in the championship. They played successfully against their competitors — against "Shakhtar" and "Alexandria". Therefore, the win of the gold medals is quite deserved, which I congratulate them on.
— Another victory allowed "Alexandria" to win silver medals ahead of schedule. Does the victory of the "city team" over "Veres" 3:1 correspond to the course of events on the field?
— The Alexandrian team definitely had to beat the Rivne players, as they were fighting for second place, which they ultimately secured. Therefore, in my opinion, there is nothing surprising about the victory of Ruslan Rotan's team. Everything was in the game and completely logical. It is, however, disappointing for Alexandrians that they could not compete with "Dynamo" for the championship until the last round. If "Alexandria" had played successfully in the previous match against "Karpaty" — everything could have turned out differently.
— Donetsk "Shakhtar" also earned three points, but a big victory in the match against "Inhulets" did not allow them to rise above third place.
— What can I say... "Shakhtar" was in turmoil for almost the entire season. Everyone understood and saw that "the miners" were not doing well and had big problems. There was hope that something would change for them in the tournament standings, but they started losing points again. "Shakhtar" has drawn several times, and the fight that should have happened, we did not see.
What can only be pleasing is the fact that the Donetsk team won the Cup of Ukraine. Although there are quite a few questions regarding this. In particular, on the topic of refereeing. Partiality was observed. However, this is football. As Myron Bohdanovych (Markevych — ed.) says, "that's what it is".
— Right now, three teams — "Polissya", "Karpaty", and "Kryvbas" are fighting for fourth place, which gives the right to play in the Conference League. Which of them has the best chances after the matches of the reporting round?
— In my opinion, all of them. Although personally I would like "Karpaty" to become fourth. How it will be — time will tell. As they say, the ball is round, the field is green. It is possible that the situation will develop in such a way that with an equal number of points, statistics of head-to-head encounters, scored goals, and so on will have to be calculated.
With a selection of qualified footballers, a good reserve, quite a good financial base, and an experienced coach who has been through both Crimea and Rome (referring to Yuriy Vernydub — ed.), "Kryvbas" deserves this too. Although I don't quite understand how under such conditions the Kryvorizhans are not in third place.
However, if we continue talking about chances, I believe that the fate of the fourth place will be decided in the match "Polissya" — "Kryvbas". I am convinced there will be a good fight in that match!
But however it goes, the championship is interesting. There are now five teams in competition, showing rivalry. However, this is not enough. There should be seven to eight teams at full level that could give our leaders a run for their money. And if once it was said in our football that the first and second places in the Ukrainian championship were not in contention, in the current season, "Alexandria" managed to squeeze in between the two giants. I would like the same "Kryvbas" and "Karpaty", who, thanks to serious selections, should strengthen and also set significant tasks, to add to "Dynamo" and "Shakhtar". And other teams over time — as well.
— If the Zhytomyr and Kryvyi Rih teams managed to win their matches, then the Lviv team lost — to "Koloss". What do you think, should the tournament shifts of the Kovalivka team be associated with Ruslan Kostyshyn returning to the coaching helm?
— Most likely, yes. The team believed in him, and there was a completely different atmosphere in the team. It was noticeable that the guys from "Koloss" had fire in their eyes. They wanted to prove something to someone, and at certain moments they were successful. It was not all smooth in this process; there were problems. So, as soon as the former head coach returned — everything more or less settled down.
— How do you explain the long winless streak of LNZ, which after another draw with "Vorskla" has already reached eight matches?
— It seems to me that there should have been some luck. Everyone knows that according to the selection of players, LNZ is a good team. It has qualified footballers who play at a good level.
As for the fact that for a long time the Cherkasy team cannot score, there may be many reasons. We do not know what is happening within LNZ in the attack line, who and how is working with members of that line, and whether there are attackers in the team who can score goals. After all, without goals, there will be no victories. And so far, we see that in the last five matches, there have only been draws, four of which ended 0:0. LNZ clearly has problems with finishing.
— What do you say about the victory of "Levyi Bereh" over "Rukh"?
— "Levyi Bereh" had nowhere to go. Frankly speaking, it would have been very unpleasant if this team had left the Premier League. After all, this young club has good infrastructure and excellent opportunities. The football-loving president of "Levyi Bereh," Mykola Lavrenko, is doing everything possible for the team and its establishment. At his initiative, a great stadium has been built, and the club has an excellent base. "Levyi Bereh" also takes care of young footballers. The president invests significant funds in the development of football, and he deserves credit for that.
Vyacheslav Kulchytskyi
