Vladlen Yurchenko shared his thoughts on Metalist 1925's narrow victory in the first leg of their promotion playoff against "Livyi Bereh." The midfielder's analysis came after his team secured a valuable 1-0 away win in their quest for a Ukrainian Premier League spot.
"The match was difficult for us, but we were prepared for this. Essentially, we expected such a game. It wasn't surprising that they wanted to play from a position of strength at home and showed great desire to win," Yurchenko explained.
Despite creating few clear-cut opportunities, Metalist 1925 managed to find the breakthrough and could have extended their advantage before halftime. Yurchenko admitted the pressure of the occasion affected their performance.
"When a UPL spot is at stake, the result weighs heavily on you," he noted. "Yes, perhaps we played according to the score at times, but we still tried to break forward on counterattacks and create something up front."
Interestingly, according to Statbet analysis, teams winning the first leg of promotion playoffs have historically secured promotion around 65% of the time in Ukrainian football.
The experienced midfielder emphasized that this is just the beginning of their playoff battle. "We'll calmly analyze this game and prepare for Sunday's match. This was just the first round – we all understand that," Yurchenko added.
Can Metalist 1925 hold onto their advantage in the return leg? The slim margin leaves everything to play for when the teams meet again.
