Vantukh: I think that Brazhko is stronger than Stepanenko

Zorya defender Roman Vantuch assessed the game with Veres in the 28th round of the UPL, spoke about the team’s goals for the season and shared his opinion about his former and current teammates.

— Are Zarya unhappy with the final result in the game with Veres?

– Certainly. We had enough chances to win this match. Plus I cut the ball into my own goal. Unfortunately, I didn’t act well in that episode.

— Is this your first own goal in your career?

– Yes.

— I saw the emotions of Zarya captain Bogdan Butko after the final whistle, and he said: “How could we not win”…

— These emotions are understandable. We had many chances to score the second goal and close this match. It’s a shame, very much. We always play to win. In the second half, only Guerrero could score twice, Denis Antyukh had a chance. We were missing the last pass.

— The first round game ended in a draw 2:2. Why can’t you beat Veres?

— I didn’t play in the first round game, but I remember that meeting, then the Veres players scored the second goal in the last second of the game. Veres is a good team, the guys took to the football field with increased motivation. Our opponent loves to attack and threaten the goal. If you don’t take our two grandees, then the rest of the competitors are approximately equal.

— The second half was spent with mutual attacks…

— Both teams wanted to win. We were closer to victory.

— Did the absence of Arseniy Batagov affect Zarya’s play on defense?

– 100% had an impact – Arseniy is our key player in defense. He starts most of our attacks and gives us confidence when controlling the ball. His injury is not very serious, I think he will return to action soon.

— Alexander Yatsyk distinguished himself in the game with Veres. Is he adding?

– He always has a lot of chances. I often talk to Sasha, he wanted to score, and immediately after scoring the goal he congratulated him. Yatsyk is great.

— You played last year with Volodya Brazhko as part of Zarya. Now Brazhko plays for Dynamo. Yatsyk also belongs to Dynamo Kyiv. Analysts often compare Brazhko and Yatsyk. What do you make of this comparison?

– I heard about it. They cannot be compared, they are versatile footballers. Brazhko is a football player in the support zone. He is a destroyer, Vova works well with the ball, he threatens the opponent’s goal, and plays skillfully in defense. I think that Brazhko is stronger than Stepanenko, for example. And Yatsyk loves to take the ball, drag it to someone else’s penalty area, and break into zones. In terms of his game, Sasha is similar in profile to Shaparenko.

— What tasks do you set for yourself for the last two matches this season?

— We are aiming for 7th place. So far we are three points behind the Cherkassy club LNZ. We want to climb as high as possible in the standings. Everyone can see that our team failed the first round. Zorya is a brand in Ukrainian football. We have always been considered the number three club. We can’t stoop so low.

— Which of the outsiders can you mark with a plus sign?

— Obolon caused us a lot of problems. I really liked the Brewers, they forced Zarya to adapt to their football, which they love.