Ex-Dynamo Kyiv forward Oleg Salenko shared his impressions of the matches of the 9th round of the Ukrainian Championship, which took place last weekend.
Oleg Salenko— Oleg, what surprised you or, let’s say, what would you focus on as a result of the past matchday in the domestic Premier League?
— That there were many draws in the round. In my opinion, this indicates that most of the teams in the championship are approximately of the same class. And notably, both of our giants once again dropped points, with Kyiv doing it for the fifth time in a row. I don’t even recall the last time such a thing happened with the «blue and whites».
— Indeed, the draws of Dynamo and Shakhtar stand out. What do you think about this?
— That it doesn’t become a sensation in the UPL. (Smiles).
— Dynamo has been dropping points for five rounds in a row. Isn’t that a bit much?
— I have already expressed my opinion on this matter more than once. If Dynamo now has problems with Samsunspor, and then with Shakhtar, let the management make the decision.
— Shakhtar also stalled. The club was unlikely to expect taking one point in two games.
— LNZ convincingly outplayed the «miners,» and Polissya achieved the result they wanted. Zhytomyr has gained momentum. Yes, Shakhtar had an advantage in this game, but correctly placed accents allowed Ruslan Rotan’s charges to achieve a positive result for themselves. Plus, surely the increased bonuses for this game added motivation for the Polissya players.
— There’s a new leader in the championship — Kryvbas. Could you have predicted this before the season started?
— Of course not. The Kryvyi Rih team did well; scoring 10 points in the last four matches says a lot. Naturally, the test for them will be in the next round. Dynamo may not be in top shape now, but it will be the toughest opponent for Kryvbas in the current championship.
— Despite the match taking place in Kyiv, will the guests have some advantage?
— Yes. First, the last round took place after national team matches, where Dynamo sent many of their representatives, plus there are injuries. Secondly, in the mid-week Kyiv awaits a Conference League match. Kyiv practically has no time for a full-fledged training process. And Kryvbas is specifically preparing for the game with the champion.
— In the last match of the round, Metalist 1925, not winning against Kudrivka, lost the chance to move to second place.
— To be honest, I assumed before the game that Kharkiv would drop points in this match. That’s how it turned out. And who knows how the game would have ended if at 1:0 Kudrivka had capitalized on their chance when their player hit the post.
theless, Mladen Bartulovic’s team didn’t lose much. Our championship is entering such a phase that, as I said, there are many equal teams, which is why the competition at the top of the standings is high. Seven teams are currently vying for the medals.
— Does this add interest to the competitions?
— It would add interest if the teams demonstrated a higher level of skill.
— LNZ has somehow quietly moved up to the leaders. Can Vitaliy Ponomarev’s team be the championship’s revelation?
— I think the next few matches will show that, where the Cherkasy team will face Metalist 1925, Karpaty, and Dynamo. Although there is a worthy selection of players and the financial component is at a decent level.
Sergiy Demyanchuk
