After drawing away with Cyprus 1-1 last month, Mykhaylychenko’s lads showed a more convincing performance tonight on home ground in a midweek international friendly against Serbia. It took Chelsea Shevchenko and Dnipro Nazarenko three minutes to strike second-half goals to earn Ukraine a 2-0 victory.
With six fresh players as compared to the previous game in the roster, three defensive roles were entrusted to the White-Blues. Along with seasoned Nesmachnyy, two youngsters Mandzyuk and Dopilka featured in the game as they earned their second-ever caps.
Vitaliy Manzdyuk, who had not been in the preliminary list, was a surprise choice. “I was really happy to appear in the starting line-up in this thrilling game. With the arrival of the new head coach and new names in the squad, this was an important psychological victory and should help move ahead and become a cohesive team”. When asked what makes Mykhaylychenko’s trainings and tactics different, the young defender said jokingly he would not reveal a secret.
His club teammate, as well as his fellow mate when back at the junior level, Oleh Dopilka also highlighted the importance of winning the debut – the first one this year and the first one under the guidance of the new manager – encounter on the home soil. “After our mediocre display on Cyprus, we could not but have rehabilitated this time around”. Ukraine will play several more warm-up games before beginning their 2010 World Cup qualifying run. “What do I expect from the games to come? We still have a month’s time before the next fixture, which should be enough for us to prepare and to show our best”.
Among those present at the Lobanovskyy Dynamo stadium, amongst others, were Dynamo President Ihor Surkis and head coach Yuriy Semin. They confessed they relished the match and were content with the White-Blues’s performance.
