Window of opportunity in Ufa
Gazprom-Ugra always plays in Ufa with a special attitude. Historically, this can be attributed to the epic five-game confrontation with the "Ural" of the times of Ball and Stanley, which few people remember. But we remember last season's five-set away win. However, forget about her too, too much has changed since then.
A year ago, Nikita Alekseev and Ilya Kovalev set the tone for us, Yegor Yakutin was atrocious on the grid. Two are no longer on the team., and Nikita now does not confirm past merits. And if Yakutin was quite adequately replaced by Kirill Piun, then in the replay - questions. It's like Gogol: if we add Katic's technique to Krasikov's attack... These thoughts can be continued on other positions, but the point is the same: we're trying to level up, based on available resources.
And "Ural" pumped resources pretty well this season, having realized them with a victory in Surgut in the first round. Kavanna, Esfandiar, Potaluk added to the traditional "deck" of Ufimians: Fishermen, Feoktistov, Гуцалюк. As a result, there are more trumps, and even the joker is in the face of the same Potaluk.
So let's get back to that, where did you start: Gazprom-Ugra always plays in Ufa with a special attitude. Apparently, it is in the mood that we should look for our chances in the upcoming match, in self-confidence, pretty undermined in matches with ASK and Fakel. Victory over the "Builder", of course, pleasant, but you shouldn’t flatter yourself - the Minskers are not only outsiders of the championship, so they came to us bloodless. However, the match with them fulfilled its function - our players were able to feel that very confidence, which was lost earlier along with the reception.
Reception becomes the cornerstone of our game. Katic's return to the court should add optimism, only how our players will cope on the grid with the same Esfandiar? Generally, the coaching staff have something to think about. And us, fans, it remains only to support the team: the game in Ufa will definitely be hard, but Gazprom-Ugra has a window of opportunity to, to bring us positive emotions.
