An unexpected loss to Odessa Krystal in the first round match of the Ukrainian Championship in Ivano-Frankivsk came at a cost for Phoenix: the team was so discouraged that in the second match of the day against Chorne More its presence in the field was as weak as ever. The loss of five points in the two Odessa matches kicked the violets out of the top three teams of the tournament for quite a while.

Once again the Odessans confirmed their reputation as an extremely inconvenient opponent for us. A relatively quick goal, scored by Artem Shevchenko, remained the only one in the match until the middle of the second half. That was despite the fact that the advantage of the Kharkiv team on the site was overwhelming. In the first half alone, Phoenix struck 34 shots on Yevheny Hutsol's goal. Krystal responded with 7 shots on goal.

A fatal string of bad luck slowly turned into nervousness and led to a situational loss of initiative. As a result, the number of dangerous moments at our goal increased. So, the goal scored by Demyd Yevsyukov was very welcome. It was a turning point, to some extent, because the goal scored relieved the tension and put the team at ease. After three minutes the same Yevsyukov assisted Mykyta Bodnar, who extended his scoring streak.

After the third goal scored Krystal, in fact, stopped fighting, conceding twice more. First Danylo Boldyzhev scored from Maksim Dolhulia's pass, and then Vladyslav Khrypchuk's great assist was rounded out by Artem Shevchenko. A few minutes spent by Khrypchuk on the field should be noted separately - Vlad looked great and, in addition to making an assist to Shevchenko, he could have scored himself.

Phoenix gained a major victory. Taking advantage of the morning slip of No 25 Kyiv Sports School, which again, just like in the match of the first round, lost to Lviv Energia in the penalty shootout, our team is now steadily placed in the second position in the standings, having reduced the advantage of the Kyiv team to two points.

After the match the boys were in for a pleasant surprise from Yana Harnykh, Demyd Yevsyukov's swimming coach. She not only came to support the guys at the match, but also gave each player a gingerbread cookie with the team emblem and the inscription 'Guys, you are the best!'

Now is the time for the most important matches for Phoenix: with all the three teams that are in for Championship medals. Already tonight the players of Serhii Hrytsenko and Yurii Vashchenko will meet with Chorne More of Odessa, one of the overdogs of the tournament. Tomorrow our team will play with the Kyivites and counter Youth Sports School Respect from Manevychi in the last match of the Championship on Friday.