Melnichenko: For such a minor foul, giving a warning in the center of the field is a very controversial decision of the referee

Midfielder of Polesie Maxim Melnichenko appreciated the visiting match with Dynamo within the 13th round Ukrainian Championshipin which his team lost 1:2. The defeat in Kyiv was the second in a row for the Zhytomyr team: in the 12th round, Polesie lost to Alexandria.

— What did Polesie lack to take the glasses away from Kyiv?

“It’s hard to analyze it without delay.” The start of this meeting was very good for our team. We’re talking about 20 minutes of play. Due to our mistakes, we missed the first goal, and almost immediately Dynamo scored the second goal. We needed some time to come to our senses. In the second half we played in the minority, and it was, of course, difficult. And yet we were able to get one goal back, but there wasn’t enough time for more.

— Was Mikhailichenko’s removal fair?

“I’m not an arbitrator and I can’t say for sure. For such a minor foul, giving a warning in the center of the field is a very controversial decision of the referee.

— Why did Polesie suffer two defeats in the last two games?

— Firstly, we played against strong opponents. We are just building our team, so everything is happening gradually. Of course, we wanted to beat both Alexandria and Dynamo. We lost important points.

— The gap between the Zhytomyr team and Alexandria is already 10 points. How to win them back?

– Time will tell everything.

— You are now going to the location of the Ukrainian youth team. What thoughts are you going to the national team with?

— I want to prove myself, because only recently they started inviting me to the Ukrainian youth team. Everything is in my hands and feet.