Oleksandriya are in Belgium tonight as they face up the heavily Ukrainian influenced KAA Gent in their final European game of the season!
After succumbing to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg in Matchday 5, which guaranteed that they could no longer progress to the further rounds, Sharan is preparing his men for their last hurrah.
There is still a lot of football left to play in the UPL which could ensure more Europa League football next year, but a guaranteed group stage spot may be harder to come by. As such it is uncertain whether many of these players will play in Europe’s second tier competition for the Club.
Despite the exit at this early stage, Oleksandriya can still keep their heads up high. They showed a fantastic account of themselves and of the little known club outside of Ukraine. Volodymyr Sharan’s men upset the odds with draws against St Etienne and Gent whilst they equally gave a good account of themselves against Wolfsburg!
Now with nothing at stake they can relax in tonight’s encounter. However the onus will be on the hosts, with Yaremchuk and Co needing a victory to guarantee finishing first!
The Ukraine forward has been in red hot form this season and he will be relishing playing up against his former side again after drawing a blank back in October.
Ihor Plastun is also expected to deputise at the back, whilst Roman Bezus has recently got himself back into the team after flirting with the bench.
On the face of it, this match looks like it will only go one way with the motivations being overpoweringly in favour of the home side but never rule out Oleksandriya to disrupt that with their typical underdog status, that just can’t stop overachieving!
Oleksandriya, it’s been a pleasure and we hope to see you back in Europe very soon!
ZORYA LONDONSK 