A Small Miracle By the Best Forward in Europe

No doubt the Arsenal coach ArsПne Wenger knows the ins and outs of soccer very well. Dynamo failed to win a single game at the beginning of the League's group tournament, yet Wenger kept calling the club the group's favorite. Some people thought this was nothing but complements from the gallant Frenchman, but the experienced coach knew what he was talking about. The Kyivans desperately wanted to win and their speed and skills were higher that night. Fortunately, Andriy Shevchenko is coming back into form. There is no such thing as a goal that is not beautiful, but what he did that night was nothing but a small miracle. His brilliant 25 meter shot left magnificent British goalie David Seaman in the dust.

The last match showed that time has come when Barcelona, Arsenal, and the French National team have to take out team into consideration. Venger was not the only one to give Dynamo high marks. In particular, Daniel Leclerq, the Lens coach, pointed out that Dynamo was a bloc. Lobanovsky himself obviously had a high opinion of the team's potential in the mid October, when he said the unsuccessful start was unsuccessful only so far.

And finally Dynamo broke through. The players began taking chances, and positive results immediately followed.

Suffice it to mention the prefect performance by Ukrainian goalie Oleksandr Shovkovsky, who rescued his team in critical moments.

I do not mean to underestimate the merits of the other Dynamo players, who won the game and played high-class soccer, yet I have to note some gaps in their game. Positional mistakes in defense called forth difficult situations close to the Dynamo net. But this time, all its defensive failures remained unpunished, mainly because of Shovkovsky's brilliant play. Still, we would do well to avoid making the same mistakes next time.

It is also provocative that Vladyslav Vashchuk received a yellow card during a generally correct game. This card forces him to miss the next game against Panathinaikos of Athens. But on the other hand, Oleksandr Khatskevych, whose five months penalty term is over, will be back in the line up.

After this victory, the competition in the E Group will start all over again. Panathinaikos is now the group's leader, but it is only one point ahead of three other teams, which means that each team still has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.

The task for Kyivans is now rather simple: to win their two remaining games. This might sound easy but is not. The good thing is that if we win these games, we will no longer depend on the results of other games and win first place in the group. There are also other possible options, but they depend on the roll of the dice. And according to the players, the dice are not to be trusted.

The Coaches Speak
Oleksiy Mykhailychenko, Kyiv Dynamo

"We all expected this game to be difficult. Because in case of a defeat, we would have no chance to advance to the quarterfinals. We have beaten a very good team and will continue to fight. I think it was a prefect game today, though we made some mistakes. Both Shovkovsky and defensive linemen did a great job. Compared to the game in London, we managed to use our abilities better.

"Holovko's goal was very important to us. Because 1:0 is a slippery score and this goal gave our players more confidence and made them more relaxed."

Arsene Wenger,
London Arsenal

"We controlled the game before the penalty and looked good on the field. But this 11 meter shot completely upset our plans. Dynamo got more confidence from that goal and began sharper attacks. It was very hard to play without Nicolas Anelka, Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp in Kyiv. In principle, this explains our defeat to some extent. But we have not yet lost our chance for final success.

"I would like to mention Shovkovsky's outstanding play. The Kyivans were extremely mobile in this game and counterattacked successfully. All three goals we allowed were scored from the standard situations."