Two Tastes of Victory

After defeating Kazakhstan 2:1 on its home pitch, the national team of Ukraine now occupies a top spot in its World Cup qualification group with four points and will share its first place with the Georgian team until October 9. The Ukrainian soccer team won a match for the first time in fifteen months, ending a yearlong loss streak. Unfortunately, the taste of victory in Kazakhstan is different in that it isn’t reassuring: on the contrary, it is calling the future destiny of Ukraine’s star team into question.

GEOGRAPHICAL NEWS

Everything is possible in today’s world. So if fifteen independent states have formed on the territory of the former USSR, why can’t one of them be transformed from an Asian into a European one at least in terms of soccer? The Soccer Association of Kazakhstan applied to the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA) for permission to enter European tournaments and was given the thumbs up. Indeed, what makes Kazakhstan worse than Turkey, Armenia, or Azerbaijan, whose teams compete in European championships despite their Asian location? Not to mention Israel, which even played in the same World Cup qualification group with Australasian teams long before joining the UEFA.

In any case, it fell to Ukraine to introduce football-playing Kazakhstan to Europe. It should be recalled that Ukrainians had played their fill of soccer with the Kazakhs during the Soviet period, in matches between Kairat from Alma-Ata and Ukrainian teams, which were accompanied by mutually advantageous player transfers. It seemed that history had forever parted our soccer teams along the Urals Ridge. Yet history has returned. Alma- Ata’s central stadium, neglected since Soviet times, has undergone a quick makeover, and the Kazakh national team was given its first pep talk before the first match with its former compatriots from Soviet Ukraine.

Kazakhs have had time enough to lose their soccer culture: the home tournament is no longer a national event and has lost much of its popular appeal. For many it now takes a great effort of imagination to recall what packed grandstands look like. The arena had a nostalgic touch to it, smacking of the period of mature socialism. Neither the canopy over the central grandstand, nor the plastic seats could hide the good old Soviet spirit. Yet it was the national teams and not Kairat and Dnipro that played on that day.

SHOWDOWN

In terms of the level of soccer played, the Kazakhstan-Ukraine game looked more like an important match in the Ukrainian championship and was characterized by a tremendous desire to score, unsupported by a concomitant level of skill. Both teams played to score, making an unjustifiably large number of mistakes in the process. Unable to maneuver themselves into scoring positions, both the Ukrainians and Kazakhs desperately fought for the ball, hoping for their opponents to make a mistake. The home team was the first to slip. Just fifteen minutes into the first period the Kazakh defense allowed Ukrainian player Belik to receive the ball in the penalty area, and the forward of Ukrainian Shakhtar scored, resulting in 1-0 for Ukraine.

After seizing the advantage early in the match, the Ukrainians proved unable to build upon it. The Kazakh players intercepted the Ukrainian forwards’ passes and even managed to play offensively. Soon it was the Ukrainians’ turn to make a mistake. The Ukrainian defense lost a high ball, leaving Kazakh forward Karpovych unattended near the goal, who gave Ukrainian goalkeeper Shovkovsky no chances for a save. This happened one hour before the final whistle.

To their credit, the Ukrainians were fighting for a victory until the last minute. It so happened that the scorching heat in the former capital of Kazakhstan gave way to cool weather and a light drizzle on the day of the match. Perhaps because of this or thanks to successful replacements, the Ukrainians seized the advantage completely in the final minutes. Fielded in the second period, Voronin and Rotan added sharpness to the Ukrainians’ offensives and created several opportunities to score. However, the outcome of the match was to be decided by Kazakh player Baltiyev, who was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper by the Ukrainian defense, like Karpovych in the first period. Luckily for us, the leading halfback of the home team missed the goal.

The winning, last-minute goal by Rotan was more of a reward for the Ukrainians’ perseverance and determination to win than a result of well thought-out offensive combinations. Fortune favored the Ukrainians, bringing them a much- needed victory.

Results of other matches in Group 2:

Georgia - Albania — 2:0

Greece - Turkey — 0:0