Dnipro - Chornomorets 1:0. Who are we?

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Dnipropetrovsk. Meteor Stadium.
Attendance: 4 800 (according to PFL information)

Referee: Venher, Kyiv
Linesmen: Muravyov, Mariupol; Olshanetskiy, Ivano-Frankivsk

Dnipro 1:0 Chornomorets Shershun 30 Kernozenko, Shershun, Shelaev, Vorobey, Rusol, Denisov, Nazarenko, Gusev, Yeschenko (Ferreira 84), Holek (Kankava 46), Samodin (Lyopa 71) Rudenko, Nizhegorodov, Gimenez, Shandruk, Biletskiy, De La Haza, Vazquez, Hryshko, Vasin (Leviha 53), Priyomov (Kornev 69), Korytko (Shyschenko 60) Nazarenko 50, Kankava 74, Yeschenko 78 Biletskiy 38, Vazquez 60, Nizhegorodov 77

It was Dnipro’s 500 game in Ukrainian championships and it brought the long awaited victory. However the performance of Protasov’s men left negative and depressing impression despite the three points. Dnipro again scored just one goal and were unwilling to finish off the demoralized opponents. The team lacked right attitude, desire to win, pace and goalscoring opportunities.

However the opening 5 minutes were different. Dnipro started to threaten the opponents’ goal immediately. Two minutes into the game Nizhegorodov almost headed the ball into his own net after the corner by Nazarenko but it hit the post and then Rusol shot at the crossbar on the rebound. This activity vanished soon and on 8 minutes the Seamen had to score but the header by Vazquez missed the back post by inches. Visitors had another chance to score towards the end of the first half when Shandruk suddenly shot from a distance but missed.

Actually, it happened only after Dnipro took the lead. On 30 minutes Shershun came forward for the corner and headed the ball home after Samodin flicked it to him. Not much else can be said about the first half, apart from the home fans’ banner that said “Tickets to Athens at our expense”. I wonder what they could mean…

The second half was even more boring. Two sides seemed to be trying to lull the audience to sleep. Chornomorets have already fulfilled their season tasks and were merely playing the championship off without big hopes. Even against such opponents Dnipro didn’t look better and sometimes seemed even worse. In the last minute of the match Kornev even could equalize but was unable to beat the keeper after going one-on-one with him. Dnipro had two chances in the second half but Samodin’s shot and Gusev’s free kick went wide.

So who are we if we need luck to win by one goal against the team that doesn’t need anything in this season? Who are we if we manage to get just 11 points out of 27 possible this spring, scoring 7 goals in 9 matches, having won 1:0 three times and having drawn two matches against outsiders? And what should we do in UEFA Cup as this victory secured Dnipro’s qualification for the competition?

Vitaliy Shevchenko, Chornomorets head coach:

- The game didn’t stir my emotions. Everything I can say is that Dnipro managed to use their chance and we didn’t. Venhlinskiy didn’t play because he is ill. He plays one match and then he’s ill.

Oleh Protasov, Dnipro head coach:

- The match was difficult for us. We could once again secure the victory in the first half but once again couldn’t score. Chornomorets are a good team although they also had problems with finishing today. I am happy that we qualified for the UEFA Cup. We have three more games to play this season and will strive for the best results in them.

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