Between first and second

The first round of the Russian Cup is behind us, in which Gazprom-Yugra beat Ugra-Samotlor, but lost to Kuzbass and Shakhtar. The second round in Surgut is ahead, YUKIOR played all his matches at a fairly high level 22 by 24 September at the Premier Arena. Our team is serious about the fight and intends to take revenge.

Compared to the performance at the Platonov Memorial, the quality of the Surgut players’ play has naturally increased. Actually, that's how it was planned, through the Memorial and Cup games, approach the start of the Russian Championship in fighting shape. In a week our guys are able to improve even more (however, just like your rivals), so we have an exciting three days of volleyball in Surgut.

The main composition becomes more or less clear: Vadim Ozhiganov, Rajab Shahbanmirzaev, Milan Katic, Ivan Korotaev, Vasyl Tarasenko, Alexey Obmochaev, Nikita Nagaets. For the championship, Petar Krsmanovic, who has returned from the Olympic selection, will take his place on the court., the same Nikita Alekseev is actively getting in shape. And the rest of the guys are not barred from getting to the site - everyone is trying, work one hundred percent.

Regarding the result of the second round, the, perhaps, The key match was the final meeting with Shakhtar Soligorsk. Defeat 0:3 – this is a repetition of the August result in St. Petersburg, but the content of the game was completely different. We gave two sets to “over-under”, Belarusians pulled them out due to greater teamwork and experience. We wait, that in Surgut progress will be reflected on the scoreboard.

Gazprom-Yugra may well fight with Kuzbass. Kemerovo was brought down by a heap of its own mistakes, weak presentation - remove these flaws, and you can fight with Kemerovo residents on equal terms. It won’t be easy with Nizhnevartovsk residents, whom we beat in Kemerovo: they go the same way, but at the same time they could easily win four matches, are looking for their game and are already able to cling and bite. But here too we have the right to count on a positive result..

Gazprom-Yugra wants to show a high-quality game in Surgut and invites all fans, missing big volleyball, to the Premier Arena hall. The support of the stands is a very important factor and the team is counting on it. We will fight for every ball and hope to please you with victories!

Senior coach of VC "Gazprom-Yugra" Denys Harkushenko: “If you compare it with the game at the Platonov Memorial, Now we have a different quality of play, but in Kemerovo something was missing. Experience, teamwork. Made it difficult for yourself, now we need to win at home. On a positive note, I would like to note the improving “block-protection” interaction, raised a lot of balls, more or less played on the block. Children's mistakes must be cleared up. I have no questions for the team, everyone works with full dedication, but not everyone has enough experience performing at this level. Nevertheless, We look forward to a successful performance at home, We hope for the support of the fans".