At the start of the first round opening games all of the teams were on equal terms, so the actual level of preparation of each of them was something one might have only wondered about. By the second round in subgroup A the alignment of forces had become more or less clear. Phoenix beat Dimax from Energodar in a difficult game, and today's rival from Bobrovitsa had lost to the guys from Slobozhanskiy with a landslide score. As a result, the status of the top dog in the Phoenix - Bobrovitsa match predictably went to the Kharkiv team.
The course of the first half was up to the expectations of fans and professionals. Even at the beginning of the match, the team from Bobrovitsa showed decent resistance, but after the very first conceded goal it just lost it. Phoenix possessed a huge territorial advantage and used the created moments with taste. The Kharkiv team seemed to be accomplishing a task of some kind to not only score as many goals as possible, but also to give all the outfield players a chance to excel. The authors of the twelve goals scored today were all nine field players who entered the court, with the exception of Vlad Khrypchuk. He got a place in the second four-players squad in this match, had some great scoring chances created for him by caring teammates, but luck was clearly not on his side.
Demyd Yevsyukov scored the first goal in today's match, having turned home Shevchenko's - the birthday boy's - assist and showing the ability to score with any part of the body. Mykyta Bodnar immediately doubled the score, making good use of Danylo Boldyzhev's pass. Nazar Lysenko helped his team pull a goal back, but the status quo was immediately restored by Boldyzhev who was now assisted by Bodnar.
Further on it looked as if the defenders and goalkeeper from Chernihiv Oblast just stopped trying and limply watched the attacks of the Kharkovites. Danylo Khodatskyi and Artem Shevchenko scored with the complete connivance of the defense in the opposition.
When the score was 5:1 Phoenix started to err defending the own goal and lost the ball, but Eldar Bratchuk cleaned up the flaws in the defense. When he was powerless, the crossbar came to the rescue. After the disastrous fragment of the match, Phoenix re-seized the initiative, and two more new names appeared on the electronic scoreboard: Ivan Konkov scored into the near corner after Khodatsky's pass, and Mykhailo Soldatenko put Phoenix up 7:1, having made made use of Maksym Dolhulia's assist.
It was somewhat unusual with such a score not to see Dolhulia among the goals author: having had several good chances Maksym failed to distinguish himself in the first half. Vladyslav Khrypchuk tried no less, failing to score, though. Only in the last minutes of the half the first brace came: delivered by Ivan Konkov, who kicked at the rivals' goal from a zero angle.
After the half-time break, the equipment in Belozirye, seemed to start losing its technical capacity: the scoreboard failed and the online broadcast stopped working, depriving most of the fans of the opportunity to watch the ups and downs of the match. It is a pity that such incidents still occur at the highest level matches in the Ukrainian youth futsal tournaments, especially during the pandemic, when the presence of fans at the match is limited. Broadcast interruptions occurred in Belozirye during previous tournaments, but, apparently, the proper conclusions were never drawn. Parents and futsal fans watching the match had to rely on the rare messages on messengers from the teams reps on site.
The beginning of the second half was marked by an exchange of goals scored (Olexandr Nikonets and Danylo Khodatskyi scored). With the score 9:2, Phoenix’ coaches made a tactical decision to switch to the game with the fifth field player. The idea of the Kharkivites bore fruit, and Phoenix scored three more times in a few minutes. Demyd Yevsyukov scored and was followed by Maksym Dolhulia who was finally able to do his bit, delivering the fourth brace in the match.
The final whistle marked the victory of the Kharkiv team with a score of 12:2. In view of the fact that in a parallel match the team from Slobozhanskiy lost to Dimax-Lyceum 5, Phoenix became the sole leader of the group. To stay at the top of the standings and take the most advantageous position before the playoffs, Phoenix cannot lose in regulation time in the evening match against Slobozhanskyi. There is no doubt, though, that the coaches and the players will aim for a win. Moreover, the violets will probably want to re-establish themselves and make up for the defeat in the single face-to-face meeting in the Ukrainian U14 Cup.