‘Everything you dream about is on the other side of fear’. What a weighty quote for the guys, whose team evolution has been not only about fighting the rivals but also fighting with themselves. They know from their own experience what prevented them from winning even when they surpassed the opposition in quality of play.
The JIA Cup has been challenging even for the long standing teams. It is a supplement to the JIA Championship, which is one of the oldest amateur futsal competitions in Kharkiv, made up of two groups: the Brand League (the first league) and the Media League (the second league). It quite often happens so that the Cup, often being full of surprises, is above the champions of the Leagues.
Phoenix, which in the new season will play with the teams of the older age group at the national level, decided to give a go to a men's fight. That was to gain experience the team finds difficult to get in the city tournaments which are now available, in most matches of which the violets do not meet the due resistance. The task was not to win. It was important to teach the boys to fight with rivals surpassing them significantly in age and physique.
Phoenix got through to today's final match, having beaten the champion of the Media League (Gladiolus) in the quarterfinals, and the organizer's team in the semifinals. In the decisive match, the boys played with Adonis - the top dog of the tournament, the silver medalist of the Brand League, which lost only four matches out of the twenty four.
Phoenix surprised all by opening the game with the attacking style. Dolhulia created the first dangerous moment in the first seconds with a break to the left flank and an inaccurate pass to the far post. So, as early as in the second minute of the match, the first goal was scored. Danylo Khodatskyi discerned the pass of the opponent, went one-on-one with the goalie and managed to send the ball into the goal. Adonis didn't seem to notice the conceded ball, which is understandable. In the championship matches, the team won back easily bigger lags than this one. The pressure on Lazeba's goal increased and resulted in three conceded goals. At first, Serhii Prokhodov took advantage of the incoordination between Bodnar and Lazeba. Then Khodatskyy was unable to interrupt a long range shot with his head, and Ilya Zinoviev, by the way, one of the most active in the light green team today, lobbed our keeper skillfully. In a short while, asleep at the wheel, ours missed the break of the opposition on the left flank, which ended in a powerful kick under the crossbar. So by the tenth minute of the game, Adonis got a comfortable advantage.
The boys showed that they had learned to take a punch, though. Their comeback was just as impressive. The violets wanted to win and not to yield in physical struggle so badly, that they got out of line at times. In minute14, Maksym Dolhulia played roughly, which resulted in a yellow card. To avoid things heating up, the coaches sent him to the bench immediately. To the credit of the opposition, Adonis did not push any harder. Two minutes after the episode Phoenix managed to cut the deficit to a minimum. Soldatenko and Konkov played a set piece on the right flank of the attack, and Ivan found himself face to face with the goalkeeper, sending an accurate kick into the far corner. Literally there and then there was another great chance after a corner kick, Boldyzhev struck a little inaccurately, though. The teams left for a break with Phoenix' deficit at a minimum.
The second half of the match began with an equal fight, where Adonis played the attacking style and Phoenix defended for a while, trying to catch the opponent on a counterattack. Three minutes after the half-time break, the violets succeeded. Bodnar received the ball in the center, played one-two with Yevsyukov and after the return pass he sent the ball into Dmytro Kapustyan's goal, scoring an equalizer. The violets seized the initiative. A great chance was lost on Zamula, who was not lost in the game, though. It became clear that, even being inferior in experience and physical conditioning, the Phoenix players were superior to their opponents in speed and dedication. The onslaught of the team gave its results, and in a few minutes the violets took the lead. Yevsyukov and Bodnar combined successfully again. Mykyta managed a great cross from the right flank, Demyd turned home accurately. Adonis brought the score level immediately, though, doing it 'the Valkovian way': a long-range goalie's throw found the head of tall Yevhen Ivlev, who lobbed Lazeba from the penalty line.
The last ten minutes of the match the teams tried to play more solidly, failing to keep their goal clean, though. Adonis seized the initiative again, forcing Lazeba to save his team after long-range shots. First, Phoenix' Bezruk scored, having played one of the best matches for the club today. His goal raised questions, which, however, were removed after the video replay. Oleksandr took advantage of the inconsistency in the actions of Dmytro Kapustyan and Serhii Prokhodov, who were unable to get the ball out of the penalty area after Boldyzhev's long range shot, and pushed the ball into the goal. The replay showed that the goalkeeper did not have time to steady the ball, and his partner seemed to have scored an own goal. Whatever it was, but three minutes before the end of regular time, the score was brought level again: Roman Romanenko went one on one with our goalkeeper, lobbing him to send a ball into the empty net, and Soldatenko, who was trying to save the situation, became the author of his own goal.
In the remaining couple of minutes, the teams did not risk it, reconciled to the idea of penalty kicks.
Ours were the first to go, with a result to disappoint the fans. Khodatskyy's shot was great, the ball hitting the post, though. The cost of subsequent mistakes increased: according to the Regulations, the teams had to make three kicks, not five, as they do in association football. The next four shots of the players of both teams were accurate. In the violets' squad Boldyzhev distinguished himself with a powerful shot under the crossbar, and Konkov, who scouted the goalkeeper and the ball at different corners of the goal meticulously. Yevhen Ivlev's kick could turn out to be decisive, Lazeba, though, to the delight of the boys, saved his shot, extending the series. The teams had to strike before the first miss. Maksym Dolhulia and Mykhailo Soldatenko of Phoenix were accurate, Yevhen Kovaliov's shot hit the post, though.
It’s hard to remember the last time we saw such emotions in boys! And it's not just about the victory, even though it was very desirable for the guys. What's more valuable is that in this football performance Phoenix played on an equal footing with a very serious rival. And it is absolutely certain that both teams played one of the brightest and most spectacular matches in the entire tournament, fully worthy of the status of the final.
Phoenix wins its first ever adult tournament. But, most importantly, the team knows exactly where to look for victories, inspiration and dreams. They are on the other side of fear.