Judging by the tournament performance of rivals in the group round of the Championship of Ukraine, in the head-to-head confrontation of Phoenix and DYSSh-7 Serhii Hrytsenko and Yurii Vashchenko's trainees looked as the favorite. The statistics of personal meetings was, too, on the side of our guys, who defeated the opponent in 11 of the 15 matches. The memories of the semifinal match in the Boris Lanevsky Memorial Cup, in which Phoenix celebrated success with a score of 4:2, are still fresh. It would seem that everything should go smoothly, but it was not a walk in the park this time ... 

It is worth mentioning that the coaching staff of DYSSh-7 is constantly experimenting with the lineup, trying to find the optimal combination of players. A special role in team building was assigned to Alina Horodetska, without whom the game of this team is now hard to imagine. Our guys left too much energy and emotion in the opening game of the match day against Persha Stolytsia. Although from the point of view of looking beneficial in the standings, Phoenix desperately needed those three points. 

The team of Viktor Hlebov and Mykolai Ivanko failed to take the first chance. Alina Horodetska came face to face with goalkeeper Eldar Bratchuk, but her short-range shot was inaccurate. 

Phoenix took full advantage of the chance. The first goal was scored by Ivan Konkov and Maxym Dolhulia. The former won the fight at the touch line, and the latter outplayed the goalkeeper of the opposition and with an accurate shot sent the ball into the net. 

Soon, the opposition got another chance, and it was thanks to the crossbar that Phoenix's net stayed intact. Both teams played at a high pace, the ball rarely lingered in the center of the court, and one could see that the coaches of both teams had focused on attack actions. 

Phoenix was winning in attacks, and soon the team doubled the lead. Daniil Dudin intercepted the ball on the opposite side of the pitch, went one-two with Artem Shevchenko and kicked the ball into the empty net. 

However, the players in orange T-shirts had no thoughts of surrender. At the very finish of the first half, the opposition managed to narrow the score to a minimum. The teammates led Danylo Vavenko to the shooting position, and he executed a skillful chip over Eldar Bratchuk. Thus, our guys conceded a last minute goal, adding confidence to DYSSh-7 before the start of the second half. 

What kind of picture on the pitch did we see after the break? One could see that Victor Hlebov and Mykolai Ivanko's trainees are full of perseverance. Volodymyr Lazarev, who had got quite familiar with his new role, was noted as flanking passes. The actions of Roman Morhunov with his high individual skills, deserve special praise. However, for the reason that Phoenix players used the high pressure tactics, Alina Horodetska's kicks - often halfway to the opponent’s side of pitch - were far from always finding the addressee. This allowed our guys to organize quick counterattacks. 

On the other hand, the boys created a sufficient number of scoring chances at the opponent's net. And had the implementation of those been successful, there would be no nervous and tense last minutes of the fight, when any mistake in defense could lead to the loss of precious points. Still, Phoenix survived, earning three points. It is worth doing justice to the team of DYSSh-7, which yielded in the final result, but looked very decent in the game. 

Thus, Saturday’s double success allowed Phoenix to reach the second position in the group (8 games - 15 points) by points scored and expect matches of the next round, which will take place on our site next Saturday, December 7, as one of the group leaders. 

Serhii Hrytsenko (Phoenix coach): 

- The game was difficult for us, but we knew the opponent. The games with DYSSh-7 are always highly challenging, so we warned the guys that it would not be easy. We had been preparing for this game, but failed to realize many moments today. 

- One could notice today that you often changed the lineup, the players came out in different combinations. What was the reason for this? 

- The first reason is injuries, and the second one is that it is difficult for children to play two games in a row. One can see that the guys are lacking physical fitness. We will play two rounds in the Championship of Ukraine next Saturday, and the remaining matches will take place in January.