Vishniac: Kolos’ main clip will remain 80% the same in the second round

The first lap for Kolos from Kovalevka ended on December 1st. In the capital of Ukraine, Kolos played a draw 2:2 with Luhansk Zorya. The final 6th place in the standings for a team from a small village can probably be regarded as a successful result. We talked about the team’s game and its prospects with the team’s head coach Yaroslav Vishnyak.

– Yaroslav Vasilyevich, let’s remember the first part of the season for your team. How did it develop for Kolos?

— The most important thing for the Ukrainian teams was the start of the new football season. This is the most important victory for all of us, Ukrainian football. As for Kolos, it was important for us to understand what we can fight for. And in general, to understand what level of the Ukrainian championship it is. Many legionnaires left. Kolos left many players. Here I will name the guys who could not continue their careers with us: Petrov, Churko, Totovitsky. Of the legionnaires, these are Renan, Sichinava, Nuriev and Diego. If we had these players, we would play differently.

Other teams had the same situation. No one knew what the level of the championship and the level of the teams would be. Everyone thought that the level would drop a little. This should have been shown only by the championship of Ukraine. I’m glad that we did not fail, but looked generally decent in the first round.

– Kolos won three times in four starting rounds and ended one game in a draw. But in the future, your team was unable to maintain this pace. Why did it happen?

– There are no reasons, but there is our level of play. I think that our level of play did not allow us to count on the fact that we would go through the entire circle smoothly, without losses. We played with all the teams – it was equal games. And in those games in which they won, and in the lost matches. Our results deteriorated after the start of the championship, but the game itself was at the same level. The place that we occupy, in my opinion, it is fair.

– Kolos plays much better at home than on the road, where he got only one victory. Why it happens?

“According to the calendar, we had difficult trips. Games with Shakhtar, Dynamo, Alexandria, Zorya. Maybe the level of the opposing teams did not allow them to get the maximum points. Probably, our homework will be to pull up the game on foreign fields.

– In the first part of the season you had a clip of 20 players. Will it change much in the spring?

– I think that it will not change by 80%. We expect that the players who are in our clip, they will add. I believe that the guys will be able to grow, both individually and in a team game we will become stronger. I count on every player and I think they will improve no matter how old they are.

– Only goalkeeper Volynets played all the matches this season in Kolos. Is he the leader of today’s Kolos?

— Yes, Zhenya is the leader of our team. As well as Evgeny Novak, Vadim Milko and Andrey Bogdanov. Those experienced players who have been in our team for a long time are the leaders of our team.

— Your best scorer is Pavel Orikhovsky, who scored all his 4 goals from the penalty mark. You rarely see this…

– Agree. Unfortunately, we do not have a clear scorer. Overall performance matters. If our midfielders scored 4-5 goals per season and gave the same number of assists, it would be a good team. Agree that it would be more difficult for the opponent to close 5-6 players than one goal player.

Dependence on one player is bad. We are losing productivity. At the beginning of the championship, we found our chances, scored and won. And from the 5th to the 7th rounds we didn’t score even once. This is something to work on. Creation of moments and implementation. This is our Achilles heel. We will try to resolve the issue in the winter.

– In the final six rounds, Kolos won only once, although he drew with Dynamo. Why such a big difference in results?

– As for the game, it has not changed much. As for the results, yes. We need to improve our performance. In the match against Dynamo we could bring our counterattacks to a goal. We lacked the last pass, composure. Then we lost to Vorskla, they realized their chances, but we did not. This is the difference.

– How many Kolos matches were interrupted due to air raid alerts?

– It was our home match with Dnepr-1 and an away game with Zorya. One and a half to two hours we were in a bomb shelter. We all understand, it is necessary, so it is necessary. All are on an equal footing.

– Winter training is ahead. What will they be like for Kolos?

— We are going to Kyiv on January 12th. The children will undergo a traditional medical examination. On January 16th we will start training in Kovalivka, at our base. We will train there twice a day. Until January 29th, we will study at home. On this day we want to spar with one of the amateur teams or we will have a two-way game.

On the 31st, we plan to leave for a training camp in Turkey. We will be based in Belek until February 24th. We want to play seven friendly matches in Turkey. Some sparring partners are already known: Blau-Weiss Linz (Austria), Samgurali (Georgia). Liepaja and FC Riga (Latvia), Atyrau (Kazakhstan).

– Already there are football players who officially left Kolos?

– Yes, these are two players: Evgeny Zadoya and Denis Kuzyk. Kuzyk’s lease ended, we had a good talk with him, we explained everything. I think that the time he spent in Kolos did him good. Denis is a young guy, he needs to play consistently.

As for Zhenya Zadoya, we are grateful to him for helping us in the first round. We wished him success. Regarding new players, we are currently negotiating with some players. Perhaps one or two players will appear with us.

– Let’s move on to the topic of the championship of Ukraine. Which team made the biggest impression on you?

– I like the game of Zarya. The Luhansk team tend to act in an attacking manner, they create many chances. In terms of players, Zara is a good team, it’s interesting to watch them. From the rest of the leaders – Dnipro-1, Shakhtar and Dynamo – everyone was already waiting for high places. But who, in what position finishes – that was the main question. Probably, the second part of the championship will be even more interesting. I believe that the places, both among the leaders and among the outsiders, will still change.

– In your opinion, has the level of the Ukrainian Championship, the competitiveness of teams, changed a lot compared to the 2021-2022 season?

– I think that in terms of interest, unpredictability of results, this is a step forward. In my opinion, the clubs that are at the bottom of the standings have become stronger. But the leaders of the championship, having lost their legionnaires, weakened. They fell a little to the middle peasants. That’s why the championship leveled off. We see that young players develop and progress. The strength of the UPL is that any team can beat any opponent. It is important to note that during the war the Ukrainian championship is held and this is a big plus. I want to say thank you to the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the opportunity to hold the championship of Ukraine.