LVIV-KYIV — Before the first meets, the coach of the Ukrainian national soccer team Myron Markevych could choose between experimenting, bringing together an entirely new team with an eye on 2012, or relying on veteran players, winning the games, and protecting himself against criticism for the next couple of months. Markevych decided on the latter and it was his rightful choice. We watched his team in two meets: against Lithuania in Kharkiv and against Romania in Lviv.
The Ukrainian team scored a decisive victory over their Lithuanian counterpart, but it was too early to draw any conclusions, as the team had yet to confront a “worthy” opponent. The Romanian team was surely such an adversary. Before last Saturday it was the only team against which the Ukrainian national had yet to score a victory, its ba-lance sheet being 0-0-3.
To begin with, Markevych left the team’s backbone virtually unchanged, with GK Piatov, MF Chyhyrynsky, midfielders Tymoshchuk and Aliyev, and forwards Shevchenko and Milevsky. Mykhalyk and Husev were also anything but rookies. The left flank of previous team was reinforced with Oshchypko and Konoplianka. The Romanian team was led to the field by the fresh winner of the Champions’ League, the Italian Inter’s player Cristian Chivu, and two “Ukrainians” among the first squad: Ratz from Shakhtar and Gioane from Dynamo.
The match in Lviv didn’t seem to follow any special logic. The Romanian team proved to be better organized and confidently led the game at the beginning, but then Aliyev’s brutal penalty kick from almost the center of the field scored the first goal. After that the pattern remained the same, with Ukraine putting up reliable defense and trying to keep the ball, and Romania actually keeping the ball but failing to pierce Ukraine’s defenses. Thus passed the first 45 minutes. The audience mostly entertained itself, starting waves rolling tier after tier or staging the best cheer competitions. The situation changed dramatically in the second half of the game when the Ukrainian goalie failed to fend off a long kick. DF Tamas, who was responsible for the shot, couldn’t believe his own eyes. Before long, however, the Ukrainian defense let the fresh Italian forward Daniele catch the ball and masterfully score another goal (1:2).
And then came time for substitutions. As previously agreed, the teams made eleven rather than the regulations six. Yet the new players had no time to find their place in the field, the Romanian team lost control of the ball, and the Ukrainian team was quick on the uptake. Shevchenko began outmaneuvering the Romanian defenders who were now less careful than at the beginning of the game. First, he masterfully exposed himself for a pass from Aliyev and headed for the Romanian goal. The goalie blocked the Ukrainian captain’s kick, but Konoplianka was already there and shot the ball between the goalie’s legs: 2:2. Ten minutes before the end of the match Shevchenko was again in front of the Romanian goal, and made a cross pass. The Romanian captain Chivu intercepted it and kicked the ball into his own goal: 3:2. The rest of the game was chaotic with substitutions made every two minutes.
The stadium cheered the referee’s final whistle that announced the Ukrainian national’s sixth victory on that field. Mysticism apart, the fans’ emotions and the positive result were the only impressions left by the rejuvenated Ukrainian team’s performance. How could it have been otherwise, considering that the coach and the players are just getting to understand each other? Besides, not all the strongest players were in Lviv. In fact, those who missed the game for some reason or other, could have made another perfectly battleworthy team. Markevych will do just that in Norway tomorrow [Den carried this feature on June 1, 2010 — Ed.]. This time five lads who played in Lviv and will be replaced. This is normal practice because the Ukrainian national is at the start of the road leading to June 2012.
