News And Notes: Ukrainians In Europe

Lets take a look at how representatives of the Zhovto-Syni performed in the European competitions. Three Ukrainian Premier League teams were in action this week. In the Champions League, Dynamo Kyiv suffered a heartbreaking 1-2 loss to Porto. The result overshadowed a fantastic performance by striker Artem Milevskiy. Making his first Champions League start since recovering from an ankle injury suffered in the Belarus match, Milevskiy was the best player on the pitch. He opened the scoring with a classy finish, showing an assassin’s composure to tuck the ball into the bottom corner with his first touch from outside the area.

Milevskiy also set up numerous scoring chances for his teammates, especially midfielder Oleksandr Aliyev. After beating Porto with a rocket free kick in the previous encounter, Aliyev had a decent showing, marred by his inability to capitalize on his opportunities in front of goal this time around. Stanyslav Bohush contributed a solid performance between the posts, and was blameless on the goals Dynamo conceded. He made several key stops and came off the line decisively when forced to deal with crosses. Taras Mykhalyk and Andriy Nesmachniy also put in 90 minutes of work in this match.

In Shakhtar’s 1-0 defeat at Sporting Lisbon, goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov kept his team in the match, but defenders Dmytro Chyhrynsky and Oleksandr Kucher did not fare nearly as well. It was Chyhrynsky’s mistake that lead to the decisive goal. Fellow internationals Vyacheslav Shevchuk and Oleksandr Hladky did not make it on the pitch, while striker Yevhen Seleznyov was left off the team sheet entirely. Fans of the national team will not be sad to see Mircea Lucescu go at the end of the year, as the Shakhtar manager has left several promising Ukrainian players rotting on the bench while he desperately tries to save his club’s season.

In the UEFA Cup, Metalist Kharkiv and Hertha Berlin played to a nil draw, with recently called up midfielder Valentyn Slyusar subbed off before the hour mark. After being active early, Andriy Voronin played 80 largely ineffective minutes for the German club. While Voronin and Oleksiy Mykhaylichenko have reportedly settled their differences, the striker’s current form make his personal relationship with the manager moot, as he does not appear capable of helping the national team.

Captain Anatoliy Tymoschuk was his usual commanding self as his Zenit Saint Petersburg side handled BATE Borisov 2-0 in their Champions League match. Tymoschuk’s distribution from the middle was nearly flawless, and his mere presence forced BATE to seek alternate attacking routes. In Milan, Andriy Shevchenko started the attack that culminated with Ronaldinho’s brilliant strike and provided the margin in the Rossoneri’s minimal UEFA Cup victory over Braga. Sheva showed flashes of class throughout the match, and there’s little doubt the Ukrainian talisman remains one of his country’s main attacking options.