Petrakov's team took fourth place at the Lobanovsky Memorial

31.05.2018 22:57

Photo by Elijah Khokhlov

The youth national team of Ukraine was defeated by the Greek team in the match for third place in the XV International Tournament in memory of Valery Lobanovsky and took fourth place in the competition.

Due to the unfortunate defeat of the Israeli youth team in the semifinals, Alexander Petrakov's team sought to end the anniversary tournament in memory of Valery Lobanovsky on a major note. The coach of the blue-and-yellows laid the foundation, playing ties for further performances of his wards in the final part of the European Championship U-19, which will be held in July on the football fields of Finland. The Greek national team came into the game with a completely renewed line-up after the recent fiasco with Slovenia, and the coaching staff aimed primarily to review what the significantly renewed team is currently capable of.

The Ukrainians seized the initiative and bravely went on the attack from the opening minutes. However, over time, the game leveled off, and the first worthy mention of the episode occurred on half the home team. On the 11th minute, Eusis responded to a flank pass from a partner and struck Kozhuhar's goal, however, the next moment the lineman lifted the box, signaling an offside from the Greek player.

Photo by Elijah Khokhlov

And in the 21st minute our goalkeeper was forced to pull the ball out of the net of his own goal. Pruning in the support zone led to the exit of "two in one" and a well-aimed shot by Kiryakopoulos in the far "nine". Undoubtedly, this scenario did not suit the Ukrainian team, which shifted the game to half the field of the Greeks. And in the 27th minute Kornienko forced to work in the goal of Kotsaris, breaking from 15 meters into the far bottom corner. And the corner, which was the result of this attack, became the goal: Cooper on the far post sent the "sphere" to the target.

It seemed that the wards of Petrakov had found their game and would continue to press on the goal of the Greeks, but soon the ball was suddenly in the frame of blue and yellow. The misunderstanding between Kozhukhar and Korniyenko led to an illogical goal and the guests' lead on the break.

In the second half, a tactical fight with a lot of martial arts in the second third of the field and a minimum of threats at both gates prevailed. The situation was somewhat changed by a number of substitutions from Petrakov, who in the equator of the second half of the game released almost half a team of fresh performers. The Ukrainian team added in speed, aggression, constructive play, but, unfortunately, numerous combinations did not find the addressees. Instead, in the time offset by the referee, Kotsopoulos finally cleared all questions about the bronze medal winners.

The Slovenian national team is at the Kolos Stadium in Boryspil defeated the Israel team with a score of 3: 0 and became the winner of the anniversary tournament in memory of Valery Lobanovsky.

Photo by Elijah Khokhlov

At the awards ceremony, the winners and all participants of the competition received the cup, medals and certificates of honor from the first vice-president of the FFU Oleg Protasov and the head coach of the U-21 youth team of Ukraine Oleksandr Golovko.

The winners of individual prizes were also determined following the results of the tournament battles:

the best goalkeeper - Konstantinos Kotsaris (national team of Greece);

the best defender - Valery Bondar (national team of Ukraine);

the best midfielder - Maxim Plakushchenko (national team of Israel);

the best striker is Jan Rebas (national team of Slovenia).

XV Lobanovsky Memorial. Youth teams

Third Place Match

Ukraine - Greece - 1: 3 (1: 2)

Goals: Cooper (28) - Kiryakopoulos (21), Kornienko (31, own goal), Kotsopoulos (90 + 4).

Ukraine: Kozhukhar, Bondar (k) (Snurnicin, 65), Popov, Mykolenko, Tsitayishvili (Musolitin, 72), Khakhlev (Belyaev, 65), Kornienko, Buletsa (Yakov, 72), Spyryaga (Kulakov, 72), Dryslyuk (Veremienko, 80), Hemp.

Greece: Kotsaris, Svarnas, Katranis, Evangelu, Karakhalios (k), Yusis (Masuras, 62), Buzukis (Vasiludis, 46), Natsos (Staikos, 62), Fasidis, Kyriakopoulos (Hatsiovannis, 72), Moraitis, 72 Kotsopulo ).

Booked: Kulakov (79), Popov (89) - Evangel (76), Hatsiovannis (85), Karakhalios (90 + 2).