9 Points Down: a Khimik Svetlogorsk tale

[zelenichajnik]

My arse hit the floor with a firm ‘splat’, as I slipped on the ice under the slush. My new-found friend Leigh helpfully told me it was there, but only as I was already on my way down. I shivered as we trudged through the thin patch of firs leading up to a wrought-iron gate, with the big red letters ‘бумажник’ doing little to warm the patch of frosted water heading directly for my hindquarters. ‘Bumazhnik’. Huh. I asked Leigh what it meant. ‘Dunno’, he said with a shrug. ‘Wallet, I think’. Fat lot of good you are.

In a weird way, this ignominious chain of events helped to calm my nerves. Outside of coaching a few youth leagues I’d never been entrusted with anything more pressing than a teapot (which I dropped, although did an excellent job with the superglue. They hardly even noticed). After struggling to get my name into an English side – a team around the Portsmouth area would’ve been lovely, but I’d have taken anything, even somewhere round Southampton – I set my sights further afield. Which led me to Leigh, which led me to Belarus, which led me to Khimik Svetlogorsk.

Khimik Svetlogorsk is renowned for being the only side in the Belarusian second tier to have never been promoted or relegated – kinda the Rochdale, until they ruined that record about 10 years ago. Through hiring me, I rationalised, they were going to leave the division one way or another. Hopefully up.

I could see through the gates that the situation was rough. A few very post-Soviet-looking yellow stands surrounded a field which, frankly had seen better days even in the offseason, and the facilities looked ‘alright’ at best. Why had this club opted to take a chance on me? Well, it might have been that no one else wanted it…

[Author note: in real life, the season ended awfully for Khimik. Only 2 wins, 4 draws and 20 losses brought the total score tally to a whopping 1 point, 16 points behind Granit Mikashevichi who somehow made 4 wins look as safe as houses.]



The State of the Club

The very first thing, before any other worth mentioning, is that we start the season on a fairly crippling -9 points after a match fixing scandal implicated us and several other teams. We’re not the worst hit – that would be Naftan Novopolotsk with an eye-watering -15 – but for a team of our expected standard, it certainly puts us at a disadvantage.

It gets worse when you start looking at us in comparison to others. I was shown a copy of Zvyazda which told me everything I needed to know in the back pages, as they listed the two best players on each side (in their humble opinions), helpfully ranked from 1 to 28. It’s quite a way down to find one of ours. #27, Vadim Balbukh, in fact. The prognosis is not good. Our title winning odds are 50-1, while we’re voted the most likely to go down this season, breaking the immaculate 28 year record. The one good thing is that to go down in this division you have to finish stone dead last, which I’m hoping might buy us room enough ahead of Novopolotsk to squeak by this year.

The finances are… not awful. We’ve got about 275000 rubles in the coffers right now (about £77,000 in North Atlantic rock money) and approximately £185 a week in wage budget room. What will that buy me? Theoretically (looking at players already here) that should get me a first-team staple and a prospect, which isn’t great, especially as there are holes in the squad in need of urgent plugging. What does the squad look like, anyway? Well...

The Starting 11 I inherit

GK – Avtandil Labadze (21) – I love a good keeper and mercifully Labadze is probably the best guy we have on this team, pound for pound. A little more positional awareness wouldn’t hurt but, really, for the level we’re playing at Avtandil has very few glaring weaknesses. This, sadly, is a trend that will not last.

DR – Alexandr Baranov (16) – a solid tackle, excellent teamwork and hefty aggression just about works the 16-year-old into the starting line-up, but… I really, really don’t want to be playing this guy. Right-back is my number one priority for new blood in this team.

DC – Oleg Shuplyak (26) – This guy is… not bad. A quality aerial presence, his composure and concentration worries me a little but he’s physically the bollocks and isn’t actually awful technically for a centre-back in the Belarusian second tier.

DC – Semen Kolybenko (21) – This guy isn’t even a centre-back, but is better than the alternative. Seriously. Again, good in the air and a solid physical presence, his tackle is great and his main weaknesses are the typical mental-area deficiencies that come with youth. Oh, and the fact he can’t play the position we’re playing him in. He really is better than the alternative though.

DL – Ilya Lyubaev (27) – Fortunately, between Shuplyak and Lyubaev, Kolybenko might be alright. Ilya is a quality left-back – a great team player that can run, cross, throw himself in and anticipate well. Honestly, he’s not an outstanding defender – his marking especially needs work – but I reckon the other bits will make up for it.

MR – Vadim Balbukh (26) – My best outfield dude, it’s no surprise that he has two Vyšejšaja Liha teams sniffing around him (Belshina Bobruisk and Smolevichi – the Vyšejšaja Liha for future record is the Belarusian Premier League equivalent). Could always cross a little better but aside from that, does everything you’d want him to do at this level and does it well. As a bonus, quality penalty taker too.

MC – Denis Yakhno (27) – A left-winger by trade, Yakhno will play in the centre in a team apparently plagued by a total lack of depth in the centre of the park. I’m hoping, though, he won’t do a bad job – he can dribble, pass, has great technique and is intelligent, so with any luck he can fill in for a mezzala or something until I can get in a more suitable candidate.

MC – Maxim Dashuk (34) – Dashuk has played in Gomel Oblast teams pretty much his entire career, be it for us or for FC Gomel. At this age, he’s still not too shoddy, even if he can’t run quite like he used to. Great passing, vision, teamwork and balance sets him up for a deep-lying playmaker spot, and he’s also a dead-ball specialist too.

ML – Ernest Lukiv (23) – The young Russian is pretty much your bona fide good winger – he can run, dribble, move off the ball, cross… and not a huge amount else. He is, however, rather handy at the aforementioned and should paste himself in as one of the first names on the starting 11 most weeks.

FC – Andrey Arkhiptsev (35) – Arkhiptsev has had a long and happy career playing for Gomel sides and should at least be a feature he for his age 35/36 season too. With the right mental toughness, surprising physical solidity and good technique, he’ll be the target man for this side alongside…

FC – Gadzhiev Khadzhimurad Abdullaev (18) – a little immature but with bags of pace and technical smarts, Abdullaev has a lot of pressure which I HOPE he can handle to be the guy we look to in our search for goals this year. Hopefully Arkhiptsev can take the heat and allow the youngster to flourish, as he certainly looks like he could be a rising star for Svetlogorsk. Cracking name, too.

Avtandil Labadze, my keeper and best hope for a rock...

How does this fit in with league rules? Well, there must be 2 under-20s in the starting lineup, which at the moment is Abdullaev and… Baranov, so the young Azamat Kobesov (centre-mid-ish) may well get some rotated game time along with loaned winger Nikita Galuza. I’m very enticed by a 15-year-old centre back we have in Roman Baga who could develop to be a brilliant player, but I don’t wanna be giving him first-team game time this instant. He’ll probably be a bench-loving guy though.

We need some loan signings I think. Preferably ones happy to play for peanuts and kalduny.
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[zelenichajnik]

The preseason

We wanted loans? We got loans! 6 of them in fact, which may well be a bit too many but it gives us a lovely amount of under-20 depth all of a sudden, meaning we shouldn’t run into selection headaches if it comes to it. We brought in:

- MC Egor Barsukov (19, from Lokomotiv Gomel)

- DR/DL Artem Konyukhov (20, from Sputnik Rechitsa)

- DC/ST Ilya Denisenya (18, from Granit Mikashevichi)

- MC Fedor Lebedev (17, from Dinamo Minsk)

- DC Egor Parkhomenko (17, from Neman Grodno)

- WBL/ML Artur Madoyan (17, from Smorgon)

Of these, Konyukhov and Denisenya will fit nicely into our starting 11, with Konyukhov at right-back and Denisenya at centre-back (we initially signed him as a target man cover, but it turned out with a stroke of luck that he was a handy centre-back too). The others should provide a handy level of cover, although I might get the odd grumble of not being played enough. We’ll see, I suppose.

Red arrows aside, Denisenya looks the business at the back.

I also took the move to sign 19-year-old Nikita Kerolidi, a right-back formerly at Dynamo Brest. Dude is a lovely physical presence and should provide ample cover for Konyukhov, meaning we now have an extremely handy 1-2 of under-20s in the position. Happy days!


Preseason went, overall, pretty darn well:

Granted, most were against lower-league sides and we managed to somehow bomb to a 3-0 defeat against rivals Zhlobin, but I can’t really complain too much when we also beat Belshina Bobruisk, a side just promoted into the Top League, 1-0 – and we deserved the win, too. Abdullaev looks like a dynamo at the head of the field, scoring 8 goals for us, and Dashuk is an assist machine, setting up 5 in 6 outings. I’m a fraction concerned with some of Konyukhov’s early outings, but hopefully it’s just settling-in nerves.

There's only one Gadzhiev Khadzimurad Abdullaev.

As one final bonus, Shuplyak and Denisenya are already developing an understanding at the back. Marvellous!

Had some wolves sniffing around my 15-year-old potential superstar Roman Baga, so ended up offering him a part-time contract before Opening Day. They’re still interested, but at least this should make him a heck of a lot harder to prise away now.

The future of Khimik Svetlogorsk centre-backery, with any luck.

A mere 3 days before the season start, terrible news struck as Vadim Balbukh was announced out with a twisted ankle. 5-6 weeks! That’s the first 6 or 7 games!! Fortunately I trust Nikita Galuza to cover for him based on his outings in the friendlies, but still – not good!

Our first game this season is an away game at the beautiful city of Lida, a good 5 hour drive near the Lithuanian border. Lida also got implicated in the betting scandal and were docked 3 points, and as such find themselves expecting a finish around 11th place. If we play like we did against Bobruisk, then I'm cautiously optimistic for the match! If we don't... smeared.

Opening Day to follow!​

 

[zelenichajnik]

Hello there and welcome to Start Stadium in Lida for the kick off of the 2020 season between FC Lida and Khimik Svetlogorsk. Lida are the favourites to win but I wouldn’t say there’s a huge amount in it. Both sides are without key players – Lida are missing 19-year-old striker Andrey Tryukhan with a virus, while winger Vadim Balbukh is out for a good few weeks now with a twisted ankle picked up in training a few days ago. I’d say, all things considered, 2-1 Lida, but it’ll be tight.



MATCH SUMMARY


11’ – GOAL FOR KHIMIK SVETLOGORSK! Dylevskiy’s challenge outside the box sets up a free kick which Maxim Dashuk lofts in the penalty area. Oleg Shuplyak’s head meets it first, driving it into the back of the net! 1-0 Khimik.

14’ – Muhammadjon Loikov comes close twice, first forcing an excellent save out of Khimik keeper Labadze and then heading the incoming corner fractionally over the bar. A few visitors started sweating, that’s for sure.

21’ – Abdullaev carries the ball from a ping-pong midfield header up the pitch, his shot blocked well by Kirill Karpenko. Dashuk’s corner is dealt with without event.

33’ – Shuplyak’s commanding header leads a chain of events that sees the ball go from Lida offensive free kick to Lida keeper in a matter of seconds. Keeper Patsenko hoofs it downfield straight to Khimik backstop Labadze, whose goal kick leads to Abdullaev creating another great chance.


Half time – an extremely close game so far, with Khimik just edging the possession 53 to 47 and, crucially, the scoreline, thanks to Shuplyak’s early header. Lida have arguably created more interesting chances, but this game is absolutely on a knife-edge.


60’ – Another fine stop from Labadze as a solid bit of direct football leads to Loikov managing to comfortably get beyond the centre backs.

63’ – Dashuk hits a corner dealt with superbly by the Lida defensive line, and it’s only another outstanding aerial bat from Labadze that stops Loikov getting on the scoresheet. Lida looking strong right now.

71’ – Squeaky *** time as Loikov gets a goal chalked off as offside. Chudnovskiy pulled the ball inside to waiting attacking mid Lazarev, who launched a ball forward to Loikov, who pulled the trigger but was offside by a hair.

77’ – The biggest opportunity of the game so far for Lida, as Labadze pulls out all the stops on the counter to see Loikov’s shot wide. Definitely a few anxious faces in the Khimik 11.

84’ – A decent chance to see the game off goes begging, but the killer is to follow. Vorontsov and Lukiv overlap well on the left, with the cross from Vorontsov missing every Lida defender and falling happily to Dashuk… who hits it straight into Patsenko’s body. Patsenko’s goal kick is weak however, and Mardoyan delivers it excellently to Abdullaev who has looked dangerous, who confidently powers it into the back of the net. GOAL FOR KHIMIK SVETLOGORSK! That should do it…

88’ – GOAL FOR KHIMIK SVETLOGORSK! To hammer the nail in Lida’s coffin, Vorontsov throws a ball short to Abdullaev, who offloads it to Dashuk, who in turn offloads it to Arkhiptsev. Arkhiptsev, still onside, taps it to the surging Lebedev, who slams it in the corner to seal the deal. 3-0 Khimik.


Full time – after looking like it might turn south for a while, a late brace sees Khimik Svetlogorsk chalk up a dream start to their season, the deficit reduced to -6. Labadze put in an incredible performance between the sticks and rightly claims player of the game.



LIDA 0 – 3 KHIMIK

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[zelenichajnik]

(the rest of) April

Saturday 18th April 2020 – Attendance: 108 (1 away)

Khimik Svetlogorsk v Lokomotiv Gomel

Labadze (6.8)

Konyukhov (6.2) / Shuplyak (6.7) / Denisenya (6.9) / Vorontsov (7.2)

Galuza (6.2) / Yakhno (6.3, +) / Dashuk (7.0) / Lukiv (6.8)

Arkhiptsev (6.3) / Abdullaev (8.6)


Mardoyan (6.7) / Ibragimov (6.7, ++) / Parkhomenko (6.8) / Lebedev (6.7) / Kerolidi (7.2)

A close game needing a few bits of magic and some substitutions to come good. The first half we looked iffy, Yakhno bruising an ankle and with Konyukhov, himself, Galuza and Arkhiptsev all performing pretty sub-standardly. Kerolidi coming on for Konyukhov proved a good move as he provided the beautiful cross to gift Abdullaev his first, and a solid free kick from Dashuk fell once more to GKA to seal the game in injury time.

Speaking of injury, Yakhno’s only out for a few days, but Ibragimov twisted an ankle and will miss 5 weeks. Ouch. Konyukhov, Galuza, Yakhno and Arkhiptsev will all find themselves replaced after an inauspicious start to the season despite two wins going into the next game, while Vorontsov did more than enough today to keep him in over Lyubaev at left-back.





Saturday 25th April 2020 – Attendance: 356

Volna Pinsk v Khimik Svetlogorsk

Labadze (7.1)

Kerolidi (6.9) / Shuplyak (7.3) / Denisenya (6.8) / Vorontsov (6.5)

Lebedev (6.6) / Makarov (6.3) / Dashuk (6.4) / Lukiv (6.4)

Bekmurzaev (6.4) / Abdullaev (6.4 ++)


Lyubaev (6.8) / Mardoyan (6.6) / Yakhno (6.7) / Galuza (7.8) / Arkhiptsev (6.8)

I breathed a sigh of relief after the game when it turned out Abdullaev had only bruised a knee – a serious injury this early on would’ve been calamitous. Today was a game we probably deserved to lose, given Volna Pinsk’s relative dominance, but we also could’ve won, if Abdullaev didn’t miss a couple of sitters or if Bekmurzaev could stay onside. So, I’ll absolutely take a 1-1 draw.

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I got second in Manager of the Month voting! 1st prize undoubtedly went to Oleg Dulub who manages NFK Minsk, the only side to record 3-from-3 in terms of wins this month. They’re far from the only unbeaten team – Volna Pinsk, Orsha and a certain Svetlogorsk side make sure of that – but they’re undoubtedly the best.

It would’ve been nice to have ended April with the points deficit nullified, but I can’t be too disheartened to collect two wins and a draw – we’d have been second on goals scored if it’d been a level playing field!

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