News and Notes: Victories Marred By Injuries

By: Yevy | November 12th, 2008

Even before the horrific injury suffered by Oleksandr Romanchuk in the Ukrainian Cup Round of 8 match against Stal Alchevsk, manager Yuri Semin declared that “the infirmary is full”. Dynamo lost Milos Ninkovic and Oleksandr Shovkovskiy during training last week, before Taras Mykhalyk was hurt in the weekend UPL contest against FC Lviv. With Ayila Yussuf, Tiberiu Ghioane, and Malkhaz Asatiani already unavailable, Semin will have to rely on players who are short on either experience or match fitness for the upcoming fixture against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Romanchuk’s injury is the most serious, as his leg was broken in two places by a terrible studs up tackle from a Stal defender. The offender was sent off, which will be of little consolation to Romanchuk as he faces a lengthy recovery. Ninkovic is another player who will not suit up for Dynamo in the near future. The Serb midfielder broke his right ankle after an awkward landing, and will be out into next year. “It’s so silly,” lamented Ninkovic, “there wasn’t even any contact. It is disappointing, especially with all the important matches on the horizon.”

Mykhalyk is the player Dynamo will miss the most in those tough contests. The defender was caught on the follow through by a Lviv player as he attempted a shot, and collapsed in obvious pain. Mykhalyk was fortunate to get away without any broken bones, but suffered a deep gash to his ankle and needed many stitches to close the wound. “When the bandages are changed I can see that it is still bleeding,” said Mykhalyk. “The important thing is to tolerate the pain and avoid more shots (that would slow the recovery). I am told it will be at least two weeks until the stitches are removed. Until then there is no point in speculating when I will be able to return.”

With Mykhalyk out against Shakhtar and likely to miss the Champions League match at Arsenal, Semin will need to decide on a replacement center half to play alongside Pape Diakhate. Asatiani is the favorite but his ankle is still an issue, and he will be pressed by veteran Goran Sablic. Ghioane is also uncertain to be ready in time for the weekend. One possible replacement is fellow Romanian Florin Cernat, who has performed well in limited opportunities this year. Semin will also hope to have Carlos Correa and Oleh Husyev ready to go. The pair has been gaining fitness with the “Deuce” and played in the cup match against Stal.

As for the actual results, Dynamo needed all the skill of Stanyslav Bohush and a wonder strike from Badr El Kaddouri to pull out a 1-0 victory against Lviv. The promoted side had fared well against the top teams in the league, with a 2-0 win against Shakhtar and a scoreless draw away at Metalist Kharkiv to their credit. The hosts should have gone ahead on 13 minutes, but Oleksandr Aliyev, already having drilled a set piece into the woodwork, had his spot kick saved and could not get a hold of the rebound. The trio of Aliyev, Ismael Bangoura, and Artem Milevskiy now all have a missed penalty to their credit. Dynamo had to wait until a quarter hour from full time to go ahead through El Kaddouri. Cernat sent his free kick attempt into the wall, but the Moroccan was there to lash an unstoppable shot into the top corner. But the man of the match was undoubtedly Bohush, as he denied Lviv chance after chance to take another massive UPL scalp.

Dynamo eased by Stal with a 4-1 margin to reach the Ukrainian Cup Semifinals. Cernat and Andriy Yarmolenko each secured a brace for a reserve side managed by assistant Oleg Luzhny. Cernat worked a clever set piece routine with Correa on the edge of the area before opening the scoring with a low strike into the near corner. The Romanian then ran onto a loose ball 25 meters from the target and again demonstrated a combination of power and accuracy to beat the Stal keeper. Cernat then sent Yarmolenko in on goal and the young striker made no mistake from close range. The hosts avoided a shutout when veteran keeper Taras Lutsenko did his best Paul Robinson impression, whiffing on a Sablic back pass and hanging an own goal on his Croatian defender. In stoppage time Yarmolenko got on the end of a Roman Zozulya cross to head home from close range for the final margin.

DYNAMO 1 – 0 FC LVIV

Dynamo: 31.Bogush, 3.Betão, 5.Vukojević, 8.Aliyev, 10.Bangoura, 15.Diakhaté, 16.Shatskikh (19.Cernat, 46), 17.Mykhalyk – cap (26.Nesmachnyy, 62), 23.Romanchuk (49.Zozulya, 56), 25.Milevskyy, 30.El Kaddouri.

FC Lviv: 30.Shevchuk, 3.Halchuk, 25.Zhdanov, 27.Vashchuk – cap, 22.Kitsuta, 7.Fedorchuk, 21.Shevelyukhin, 9.Khudzik, 28.Kotenko (14.B.Baranets, 76), 8.G.Baranets, 20.Poltavets (24.Panas, 83).

Goal: El Kaddouri (75).

Missed penalty: Aliyev (13).

Booked: Milevskyy (70), Aliyev (77) – Vashchuk (55), Shevelyukhin (59), Zhdanov (79).

STAL АLCHEVSK 1 – 4 DYNAMO

Stal А: 1.Babak, 4.Pasychnychenko (24.Shevchenko, 82), 2.D.Nazarenko, 23.Lotz, 3.Nazaruk, 5.Havrysh, 17.Valeyev, 8.Podnebennyy (14.Kiriak, 73), 18.Akymenko (32.Smalko, 60), 19.Mukhovykov, 9. Myshchenko.

Dynamo: 21.Lutsenko, 2.Dopilka, 6.Sablić, 7.Corrêa (20.Husyev, 52), 9.Morozyuk (18.Temile, 88), 11.Eremenko, 19.Cernat, 23.Romanchuk (34.Khacheridi, 62), 24.Sakhnevych, 49.Zozulya, 70.Yarmolenko.

Goals: Sablić (54, own goal) – Cernat (14, 28), Yarmolenko (37, 90+2).

Yellow card: Temile (90+1).

Red card: D.Nazarenko (59)