Dynamo Kyiv got off to a flying start in the Champions League, beating Vilnius Zalgiris 2 – 0
Of course, going to see this match, the Kyiv spectator was not only sure of a victorious result (this needed no discussion!) but also wondered how Andriy Shevchenko's “Uzbek” replacement Maksym Shatskykh would show himself in the starting game.
This forward had been hyped up very loudly and aggressively in the mass media. But it is common knowledge: much ado is very often about nothing. There is a never-ending list of young talented players on whom so many hopes were pinned, but who failed to rise to expectations...
Luckily for the home team, everything was the other way round. After making his debut in the Ukrainian championship match with Lviv Karpaty, Shatskykh played last Wednesday for the first time for his new club in a high-level Eurocup match. And he became the chief hero of the match. No doubt, the whole team won. And we should not diminish the merits of any other Dynamo player. But what one remembers first of all are goals. There were two of them in the match. Both of them were scored in a masterly and very spectacular way by none other than Maksym Shatskykh. Is he going to become a “second Shevchenko?” Of course, it is too early to judge by a few matches, the more so that in the game against Karpaty Maksym was clearly at a loss and failed to find a common language with his new partners. But he, so to speak, made it in the League starting match.
As to the team's overall performance, it left a good impression. Dynamo's mature masters did not rush to storm the rivals' goal in the first seconds; they were shaking the visitors' defenses “slowly but steadily.” As the Lithuanian club coach Kestutis Latoza admitted at the post- match press conference, the Zalgiris goal area was under very strong pressure. True, it only twice materialized into goals: one in each half.
Despite a rather modest score, the hosts' victory looks quite confident and deserving. In any case, that Dynamo will qualify for the second round by the aggregate of two matches raised no doubts among experts. This was also indirectly confirmed by the Lithuanian champion's coach who noted that the Kyivans are head and shoulders above his players.
Zalgiris in turn demonstrated just what was expected. The team mostly concentrated on the defense of its own goal, seeking luck only in counterattacks. The guests sometimes stooped to dirty play. At any rate, the Lithuanians only held out with dignity until the 39th minute, when the first goal was scored.
Well, in the first two matches of the 1999-2000 Eurocup season, the Kyivans faced a not-so-weak but undistinguished team. In its turn, Valery Lobanovsky's squad has again proved its viability even without Ukrainian soccer's brightest star, which may now be shining in the sky of Milan. But have we witnessed the rise of a new light in the Kyiv sky?..
Of course, going to see this match, the Kyiv spectator was not only sure of a victorious result (this needed no discussion!) but also wondered how Andriy Shevchenko's “Uzbek” replacement Maksym Shatskykh would show himself in the starting game.
This forward had been hyped up very loudly and aggressively in the mass media. But it is common knowledge: much ado is very often about nothing. There is a never-ending list of young talented players on whom so many hopes were pinned, but who failed to rise to expectations...
Luckily for the home team, everything was the other way round. After making his debut in the Ukrainian championship match with Lviv Karpaty, Shatskykh played last Wednesday for the first time for his new club in a high-level Eurocup match. And he became the chief hero of the match. No doubt, the whole team won. And we should not diminish the merits of any other Dynamo player. But what one remembers first of all are goals. There were two of them in the match. Both of them were scored in a masterly and very spectacular way by none other than Maksym Shatskykh. Is he going to become a “second Shevchenko?” Of course, it is too early to judge by a few matches, the more so that in the game against Karpaty Maksym was clearly at a loss and failed to find a common language with his new partners. But he, so to speak, made it in the League starting match.
As to the team's overall performance, it left a good impression. Dynamo's mature masters did not rush to storm the rivals' goal in the first seconds; they were shaking the visitors' defenses “slowly but steadily.” As the Lithuanian club coach Kestutis Latoza admitted at the post- match press conference, the Zalgiris goal area was under very strong pressure. True, it only twice materialized into goals: one in each half.
Despite a rather modest score, the hosts' victory looks quite confident and deserving. In any case, that Dynamo will qualify for the second round by the aggregate of two matches raised no doubts among experts. This was also indirectly confirmed by the Lithuanian champion's coach who noted that the Kyivans are head and shoulders above his players.
Zalgiris in turn demonstrated just what was expected. The team mostly concentrated on the defense of its own goal, seeking luck only in counterattacks. The guests sometimes stooped to dirty play. At any rate, the Lithuanians only held out with dignity until the 39th minute, when the first goal was scored.
Well, in the first two matches of the 1999-2000 Eurocup season, the Kyivans faced a not-so-weak but undistinguished team. In its turn, Valery Lobanovsky's squad has again proved its viability even without Ukrainian soccer's brightest star, which may now be shining in the sky of Milan. But have we witnessed the rise of a new light in the Kyiv sky?..
Newspaper output №:
№29, (1999)Section
Society
