It is for the second time that the draw of the Ukrainian Cup has no sympathy for us. In the previous cup series we had to face Olympia-Dnipro of the city of Dnipro – then-tournament leader - as early as in the first round. Today, on day one, we countered Chorne More of Odessa. The Odessa team has quite recently won the Chernomorsk Cup U15, and rightly so, is considered to be one of the overdogs of the tournament.

Phoenix, thrown into confusion by Ukrainian Futsal Association with the bracket organized so that the Cup usually held in March was shifted to as far as early October, had to hastily reschedule its practice sessions. The team ended up only partially prepared for the tournament – Phoenix returned to the gym after the open-air training only two days before its trip to Chernomorsk, having held as little as one practice session on the parquet. On top of that, Vladyslav Khrypchuk, still recovering in the team's hospital, could not join the team on the field trip. Jumping ahead, it is Vladyslav whom Phoenix devoted today 's victory.

Despite all the circumstances, the team showed the game the fans had hoped to see. Most of the spectators had to watch the games of the tournament on YouTube – the Ukrainian Cup is held in the ‘fans free’ mode. The rule applies to the players of other teams that participate in the tournament, too.

Phoenix with its negative balance in the games with Odessites (2 losses, one win) played in an exceptionally confident manner. The team initially planned to play defense first but stepped in with the attacking style, and kept the ball away from its net even when it led the score after an excellent goal by Demyd Yevsiukov, who debuted as Phoenix skipper.

Both teams showed a spectacular game: quick-paced, technically and tactically diverse, it must have been a pleasure to observe for all those watching. Chorne More, perhaps, surpassed us in terms of individual mastery. Phoenix was trying to beat the competition with discipline and flawless defense, which trailed off in minute 9, allowing Dmytro Romanenko to level the score.

The game was so even that any goal to follow seemed to become a decisive one. That was exactly what happened. Just as the minute hand was about to finish its round after the start of the second half, Mykyta Bodnar, taking advantage of opposition’s mistake in the defense, beat the opponent and sent the decisive, as it turned out later, ball into the net of the Odessa team.

At the end of the match Chorne More switched to the five-a-side style, failing, however, to make use of the extended presence, which was in no small part due to our guys’ thought-out defense.

Phoenix is starting off with a highly important victory, which, without a doubt, will boost our players' confidence before the remaining two games of the group round – against Energiia and Shturm of Shyriaiev. Both these matches will take place tomorrow – 10:20 and 3 p.m.