Former well-known coach and now football expert Oleksandr Sevidov shared his impressions of the matches of the 11th round of the Ukrainian championship, which took place last weekend.
— The highlight of the last round, undoubtedly, was the match between long-standing and bitter rivals — Shakhtar and Dynamo. Do you agree with the assertions of some experts that a draw would have been the logical outcome of the Ukrainian classic?
— Frankly, no. In my opinion, Shakhtar deservedly won. As in the previous cup meeting, Dynamo starts playing only after conceding a goal, just like in the well-known saying about the rooster that won’t crow until the situation gets dire. And before that, very much, as for a team vying for the championship, Kyivians allow too many chances at their goal.
Remembering the first match, Shakhtar scored a goal, started playing cautiously, thereby once again losing initiative. Still, in my view, everything ended logically. At the moment, Shakhtar is a bit stronger. If we talk about the specific game, it was especially noticeable in the first half. Judging by the tackles, the Brazilian players of Donetsk were super motivated. So everything is logical.
— Does the draw result in Zhytomyr, where Polissya and Metalist 1925 met, match the course of events on the field?
— I think it does. Here everything is more logical. After all, the teams understood that a defeat would give the opponent an opportunity to surpass them. And this creates a certain advantage. In my opinion, there wasn’t open play in the match that both teams could have shown. After all, both Polissya and Metalist 1925 demonstrated it before. Although, it should be noted that they played against weaker opponents.
Nevertheless, these teams, in my opinion, will claim a spot in the top five. If judged by the segment of the championship passed, both the staff potential and financial stability (which is very important in our time) allow Zhytomyr and Kharkiv teams to hope exactly for this. Therefore, the rivals played more cautiously than in previous rounds in their face-to-face meeting.
— One of the championship leaders, LNZ, narrowly lost to Karpaty at its own field. Can this result be referred to as unexpected?
— Judging by the latest results, this is probably still a big surprise. However, judging by the declared goals for the season, which traditionally in our country are adjusted as the championship progresses, I would not call the outcome of the match in Cherkasy unexpected. In Karpaty, there’s currently a decent selection of players, and no matter what they say, money does play football, let me assure you of that! So, if a team has financial stability, and thus the opportunity to invite stronger players than its competitors, it should look better by default.
In my opinion, Karpaty should have been fighting for the top six. And the fact that they didn’t do well with the results brings to mind the saying of old times: 'Less talking, more doing.' But if we consider the outcome of the match, yes — it’s probably still unexpected. LNZ is a solid team, although it seems to me, it doesn’t have too attractive football. But be that as it may, it consistently achieves results. In this regard, how cannot one recall the words of José Mourinho: 'Any tactics are good if they bring results.' Therefore, criticizing the game of a team achieving results makes no sense. So, in this game, in my opinion, a draw would have been more logical.
— What can Zoria, having achieved a minimal victory over Rukh, count on in the current championship?
— It would have been more logical to put the question the other way around: what can Rukh, having minimally lost to Zoria, count on? If we take the Luhansk team, it’s unfair to say that it has no result at all. However, it’s also unfair to say that Zoria has good results. Somehow, after the surge of my old friend Viktor Skrypnyk during his first coming to Ukraine, things aren’t going well for Zoria. Yes, many might say, 'We’ve studied their tactics,' but all of this, as the saying goes, is poor talk. It seems the team plays decently, creates moments, but still, it lacks something.
In this situation, the definition 'Pastry without filling' might be quite witty. Here there might be some internal reasons, as we well know the situation in Zoria year after year. Still, we hope these are temporary difficulties. Zoria is a club close to my heart, and I always care about it.
— In recent times, Kolos finds it harder and harder to score points. In the home match against Oleksandriya, the team of Ruslan Kostyshyn was content with a draw...
— If we purely analyze the head coach’s work, the main focus is on emotions. Kolos players always entered the field with emotional uplift. However, solely playing on emotions is extremely difficult — practically impossible. But you need to reinforce that with class, with skills, with tactics. In my opinion, the emotions that Kolos had at the start of the championship, when there were decent results, gradually waned. And now the team finds points hard to come by.
As for Oleksandriya, everyone talks about its significant staff losses. Nevertheless, it’s incorrect to say that this team is 'cargo-passenger.' Regarding Kolos, I will add that, in my opinion, when emotions somewhat subsided, there is now hope that the upcoming international break in the championship associated with the Ukrainian national team games, and also the concluding matches of the autumn part of the championship, will possibly allow Kostyshyn to cheer up his team.
— What do you say about the match between Kryvbas and Poltava, which ended in a productive 2:2 draw?
— For Poltava, each point is truly golden. Poltava will scratch and fight hard. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t think this team will be able to rise high. Because no matter what we say, someone will still remain at the bottom of the table — someone will need to fight for survival. Speaking of Kryvbas, this team tries to play European football. It doesn’t close off; many players are involved in the attack. But still, in each match, a moment arises near the Kryvyi Rih team’s goal. It’s one thing when their opponents didn’t convert chances in previous matches and Kryvbas achieved victory.
It brings to mind when Patrick van Leeuwen once said, 'I don’t need to look at the numbers; look at the scoreboard.' Now, however, it’s necessary to look at the numbers. So here, you can play on words. Kryvbas is a 'playing' team, but still, it lacks stability, especially when defending. It seems Kryvyi Rih has a decent selection of players — many young players and quite a few foreigners play. And they play well. Yet, inconsistent defense will not bring high results to the team. And no matter how much you attack, when crucial moments arise near your goal, you will still lose points.
— Did Veres, who won away against Epicentr last tour, surprise you?
— Frankly, I find Epicentr somewhat appealing. Why exactly? Because this team also tries to play football. It just entered the elite from the first league, and until recently, we only knew Epicentr as a shopping center. And now the team is playing in the Premier League. It’s worth giving them credit for fighting in every game. Yes, it doesn’t always work out, but Kamianets doesn’t close down — they play football. Yes, they allow the opponent a lot, but at the same time, create a lot of moments.
And the fact that Epicentr played equally against Veres is not a plus for Veres. It’s a plus for Epicentr. In this 'shootout,' the Kamianets-Podilskyi team lost, but this doesn’t mean much. Nagornyak’s team won the previous two matches and, having gained points, took a slight breather. But here you cannot relax and exhale, as every game is like the last fight. Probably, the Epicentr players will need to get accustomed to the Premier League’s intensity for now.
— Did the Premier League deb utant Kudrivka deliver another surprise by beating the unyielding Obolon? Is everything fair?
— I think so. Obolon didn’t stray from its game. Perhaps it’s not as spectacular as one would like. But the coaching staff relies on the players they have. The Kyiv club cannot afford to bring qualified masters into its ranks. The 'Brewers' play by the principle 'Don’t shoot the pianist — he plays as he can.' Games like Epicentr — Veres, Kudrivka — Obolon, with all due respect to the Rivne and Kyiv teams, are approximately equal in style.
As for the same Epicentr and Kudrivka, which have many players who went through the Premier League’s crucible, this battle is nothing new for them. These clubs themselves are young — and this also should be considered. Therefore, such matches as Kudrivka — Obolon are not a catastrophe for any of the opponents. Today the team from the Chernihiv region won, and in the second round, perhaps, the 'Brewers' will win. In this case, we are talking about evenly matched teams that will fight for the lower and middle parts of the standings.
Vyacheslav Kulchytsky