Handball competition

On April 9, as part of the 16th round of the Men’s Super League, the ZNTU-ZAB handball club hosted Portovyk from the city of Yuzhne, Odesa region, at its home arena (ZAB Sports Complex). The match promised to be interesting, as it was a confrontation between teams where it is impossible to predict anything clearly, because none of the clubs was going to give up their positions and give up the goals set for the season. For our compatriots, it was a chance to get closer to the leading trio of the championship, but Portovyk was one of the leaders, fighting in the TOP-3. There was still more pressure on «Portovyk», because ZTR was breathing down his neck, while «ZNTU-ZAB» had a comfortable distance from the absolute outsiders «Shakhtar-Akademik» and «Dynamo Poltava».

The game started with the dominance of the guests, who were territorially more powerful in the early stages. After some time, our players understood their goals and began to act very aggressively in the selection and move from defense to attack with unparalleled speed. It bore fruit with one hundred percent efficiency. «Portovik» was not ready for this, and their confidence was especially shaken in the first half of the half, when almost every shot was parried by our goalkeeper Yurii Shamrylo. He can take advantage of this match, because, in general, he played an outstanding game not only with excellent saves, but also with clear passes in the early stages of attacks.

Indeed, with the unwavering support of our fan sector, led by Andriy Pashchenko (mobile – +38-066-867-73-73), it was possible to go only forward and only by the result. Drumming, pipes, constant motivational shouts and rhythmic fan tunes created an atmosphere of celebration, sports excitement and an epic match.

Not every attack was effective, and the boys returned to defense so quickly that «Portovik» attacked only positionally in most cases. The teams periodically demonstrated a bright counter-attacking game with open zones, and in tactical breaks they preferred a combination with the active participation of fast wings and powerful players in the center of the field. Unfortunately, over time, the effectiveness of the home team’s attacks decreased, and the aggression disappeared in the defense, which now made it possible to score a large number of goals even simply on individual skills. If at first the margin was not more than two goals, then it gradually began to increase. Emotions were out of control, players were injured, coaches nervously shouted something and waved their hands.

It was clear that our team simply did not have enough strength to demonstrate the tempo offered by Portovyk throughout the game. When it seemed that everything was over, «ZNTU-ZAB» stepped up and reduced the gap, but there was not enough time to continue in the same spirit. After friendly handshakes and thanks to the unstoppable fan sector that day, the teams went to the locker room.

Aleksii Ditchuk
Press service of the trade union committee of students of ZNTU