Metalist comes third again
In the central match of this round, Kharkiv’s Metalist was powerless against Kyiv’s Dynamo. It looks that Kharkiv will finish the championship in third place – for the fourth year in a row! However, it’s too early to make such predictions, since there are eight more matches ahead, and it is highly probable that all leaders will lose points. Nevertheless, it’s hard to believe that Metalist will manage to place ahead of Dynamo. It’s more likely that Dnipro or Karpaty football clubs, with their cruising speed, will be able to force a struggle for bronze, than Kharkiv will reach the qualifications for the Champions League. I’d be happy to be wrong.
After several years, conversations about the “third force” in our championship remain open. Indeed, Dnipropetrovsk’s Dnipro and Kharkiv’s Metalist have both been competing for this position. Thanks to the considerable, for our championship, financial injection in the form of new players, Dnipro has become a serious contender. Metalist,on the contrary, has been relying on the stability of the team, a distinct style, and the strategies of Markevych. Unfortunately, they did not affect the outcome.
A lot was expected from this match. Will Dynamo be able to recover from the humiliating defeat in Uzhhorod? Will Metalist continue its goal-series (9:2 in the last two matches)? Moreover, in recent years “home” matches with Metalist were not easy for Dynamo. Last season, Kyiv lost 1:2 under the guidance of Yuri Semin.
Valerii Gazzaev didn’t make any serious or unexpected changes, despite such calls after the game against Zakarpattia. Mykhalyk, who recovered from a cold, substituted the disqualified Khacheridi. Yeriomenko also returned to the team, substituting for El Kaddouri.
However, as it often happens, excessive expectations resulted in a letdown. Yes, there was a struggle, there were goals, but it lacked the main element – intrigue. In many ways this was due to the elimination of Devic at the 38th minute, which will long be discussed by fans and specialists. But let’s leave this to the referee’s conscience. The final score was 3:0, and a defeated Kharkiv team returned home. Dreams about the Champions League will probably have to be postponed until next year.
A few words about the fans. For the first time this year there was no room to move at a home game for Kyiv. It’s difficult to say whether the name of the opponent or the prospect of a wonderful game was the reason behind it. However, we can only hope that such an outcome will be here to stay, not only during Europa League games, but during the national championship as well.
