President of the Ukrainian Water Polo Federation Oleksandr Svishchov shared his impressions of the second round of the WP Tour Series, in which the current champions of Ukraine, Dynamo Lviv, took part.
Two defeats from the leaders and victories over outsiders. Analysis of the second round of the WP Tour Series from the players and coach of Water Polo Club Dynamo Lviv and the President of the Ukrainian Water Polo Federation.
“I am very pleased that our Ukrainian water polo players from Water Polo Club Dynamo Lviv are playing in the WP Tour Series for the second year in a row. These international matches give our players the opportunity to gain a lot of experience. This is especially true for young water polo players, of whom there are many in the Dynamo team. The guys are getting more practice, and the coaches have the opportunity to experiment with the lineup and try out new tactical schemes. As for the second round, the result was positive, with Dynamo winning three times. I was somewhat disappointed with the defeat against Novak, this team is within the reach of Ukrainian water polo players. We lost, but I think that two defeats in the second round provide a good basis for our coaches and players to analyze their weaknesses and work on them.”
“In my opinion, the second round of the competition was surprisingly difficult, primarily because our defender Roman Hryshchuk was unable to travel. So we had to combine in defense. The team worked in new conditions, and it was successful in some ways and not in others. But it’s good that we have the opportunity to practice with rivals such as Novaki and Zhaibas, it’s the experience of playing with a strong opponent that we lack at home. We saw that our young people are growing and progressing, but they are not yet able to fully follow the instructions of the coaches. However, there is progress and work to be done,” says Oleksiy Shvedov, head coach of Dynamo Lviv, adding:
“Such tournaments provide an opportunity to train future U-19 players who will play in the European Championship qualifiers next year. We invited two legionnaires, former Dynamo players Orest Dzhura and Ihor Liubinskyi, to play in Novaky this round, and we watched their game. We will invite other players to the next stage of the competition. We are looking at the candidates for the national team of Ukraine, looking at who will take part in the qualification for the U-19 continental championship.
Competitions provide an opportunity to play in new conditions, see mistakes and understand in which direction to move forward. As for the plans, we will have a recovery period until the end of the week, and on Monday we will start laying the foundation, working out physically in the gym, on swimming training, and preparing for the Northern League, which will start in January. The next stages of the WP Tour Series will follow. We have to prepare physically, technically, and tactically for those starts accordingly.”
“In my opinion, we played weaker in the second round of the WP Tour Series than in the first. Only in the last match against the tournament leader Zhaibas did we have a better score than last time. We have consistently failed in the first periods in matches with the leaders, we fail them, and then start to catch up.
Why, unlike in the first round, were Novaki unable to win? In both the first and second rounds, we failed in the first half of the match, especially the first period. Last time, we managed to pull ourselves together, turn the tide of the match and win in the last seconds. In the same match, we were unable to do so. In addition, two new players joined the Novaki team, and they have strengthened compared to the first round.
However, we were also joined by Orest Dzhura and Ihor Liubinsky. Orest shows a steady, good game, but Ihor had an injury, was treated, we still need to work with him, and it is clear that he has been out of the sport for some time,” says Oleksandr Dyadyura, captain of Dynamo Lviv.
