Come on, Let’s Play! Season’s winners
Sunday, May 20, 2018
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They determined the winners and award winners in the final tournament of the Come on, Let’s Play! project.
For two days, eight best teams competed for medals of the 2017/18 season. In Schaslyve on May 20, they held the decisive matches and revealed those triumphing.
Dramatic final
Donbass (Donetsk) and Kvadrat (Lviv) fought for winning in the younger age group of U10. Just as on the previous game day, the duel between those rivals was the tensest and most emotional. The full time ended without scoring goals, with the lady luck shining on the Donetsk team in the penalty shootout – 5-4. Donbass are the season’s champions in the Come on, Let’s Play! project.
Maksym Maksymenko, Donbass coach:
- The emotions are just inexpressible! We trained, prepared and really wanted to win. We’re glad we succeeded. The final tournament is always interesting and challenging, against some strong rivals. Special thanks for the organization, which, as always, was top-notch. And this concerns not only household issues and matches. All these days, we’ve felt the attention of the coaches and players of the Shakhtar Academy: they approached us, chatted with us, helped the kids with prompts and with their example. It was very nice. And I want to congratulate my team on the win! They did really well!
Silver medals were won by Kvadrat, bronze ones by Black Star Junior (Kramatorsk) who proved stronger than Laurus (Kurakhove) in the third-spot decider- 3-2. Yehor Demchenko (Donbass) was recognised as the Keeper of the Match, with Ruslan Vysochanskyi (Kvadrat, Lviv) being the Player of the Tournament.
The invincible
In the senior age group of U12, the Hirnyky of Dobropillya left the others with no chance whatsoever. After three wins in the group stage, they confidently won the final vs the Kramatorsk-based Izumrud – 5-1.
Oleksandr Telendii, Hirnyky coach:
- We’re happy that we secured such an achievement and will bring gold medals of the Come On, Let’s Play! competition to Dobropillya. We dreamed about it, worked hard and managed to win. That’s a huge event for the guys, just as for us, the mentors. A huge number of people wished to participate in the project before, and now, I’m sure, there will be even more of them.
In the match for the third spot, Proryv (Severodonetsk) defeated the final tournament winners Volna (Mariupol) 8-2. The individual prizes in the senior group went to Andrii Ostapenko of Proryv (best goalkeeper) and Valerii Zaika of Izumrud (player of the tournament).
Andrii Ostapenko, Proryv goalkeeper:
- I’ve been for about two years in the Come on, Let’s Play! and I really like everything. Football is the number one sport: exciting, beautiful, gambling. It’s my second time in the finals and I'm happy that this year we’ve won medals, and that they recognized me as the best goalkeeper. That's nice.
Awards from the hands of champions
Ukraine’s best footballer Olha Ovdiychuk and the Shakhtar player Ivan Ordets took part in the awards ceremony. The guys were pleased to get the medals and Cups from the hands of those famous athletes.
Dramatic final
Donbass (Donetsk) and Kvadrat (Lviv) fought for winning in the younger age group of U10. Just as on the previous game day, the duel between those rivals was the tensest and most emotional. The full time ended without scoring goals, with the lady luck shining on the Donetsk team in the penalty shootout – 5-4. Donbass are the season’s champions in the Come on, Let’s Play! project.
Maksym Maksymenko, Donbass coach:
- The emotions are just inexpressible! We trained, prepared and really wanted to win. We’re glad we succeeded. The final tournament is always interesting and challenging, against some strong rivals. Special thanks for the organization, which, as always, was top-notch. And this concerns not only household issues and matches. All these days, we’ve felt the attention of the coaches and players of the Shakhtar Academy: they approached us, chatted with us, helped the kids with prompts and with their example. It was very nice. And I want to congratulate my team on the win! They did really well!
Silver medals were won by Kvadrat, bronze ones by Black Star Junior (Kramatorsk) who proved stronger than Laurus (Kurakhove) in the third-spot decider- 3-2. Yehor Demchenko (Donbass) was recognised as the Keeper of the Match, with Ruslan Vysochanskyi (Kvadrat, Lviv) being the Player of the Tournament.
The invincible
In the senior age group of U12, the Hirnyky of Dobropillya left the others with no chance whatsoever. After three wins in the group stage, they confidently won the final vs the Kramatorsk-based Izumrud – 5-1.
Oleksandr Telendii, Hirnyky coach:
- We’re happy that we secured such an achievement and will bring gold medals of the Come On, Let’s Play! competition to Dobropillya. We dreamed about it, worked hard and managed to win. That’s a huge event for the guys, just as for us, the mentors. A huge number of people wished to participate in the project before, and now, I’m sure, there will be even more of them.
In the match for the third spot, Proryv (Severodonetsk) defeated the final tournament winners Volna (Mariupol) 8-2. The individual prizes in the senior group went to Andrii Ostapenko of Proryv (best goalkeeper) and Valerii Zaika of Izumrud (player of the tournament).
Andrii Ostapenko, Proryv goalkeeper:
- I’ve been for about two years in the Come on, Let’s Play! and I really like everything. Football is the number one sport: exciting, beautiful, gambling. It’s my second time in the finals and I'm happy that this year we’ve won medals, and that they recognized me as the best goalkeeper. That's nice.
Awards from the hands of champions
Ukraine’s best footballer Olha Ovdiychuk and the Shakhtar player Ivan Ordets took part in the awards ceremony. The guys were pleased to get the medals and Cups from the hands of those famous athletes.
It's great that the Come on, Let’s Play! project is also open for girls - this is really important for the development of women's football in our country
Olha Ovdiychuk, Ukraine’s best footballer:
- I’ve got only the best impressions of the tournament. This is a real festival for children, which gives them emotions and some unforgettable moments. It's great that the Come on, Let’s Play! project is also open for girls - this is really important for the development of women's football in our country. Look, today they didn’t just play side by side with the boys, they weren’t any worse than the boys: they fought and scored goals. I wish all the participants inspiration, perseverance and will to win!
- I’ve got only the best impressions of the tournament. This is a real festival for children, which gives them emotions and some unforgettable moments. It's great that the Come on, Let’s Play! project is also open for girls - this is really important for the development of women's football in our country. Look, today they didn’t just play side by side with the boys, they weren’t any worse than the boys: they fought and scored goals. I wish all the participants inspiration, perseverance and will to win!
Now it's such a time that many children stop playing sports, while Shakhtar does their best to get them involved in football, to be healthy and strong
Ivan Ordets, Shakhtar defender:
- A great atmosphere, only the most positive emotions of this tournament. I remember myself starting to play football at the age of nine, and I know that this event is a real festival. Now it's such a time that many children stop playing sports, while Shakhtar does their best to get them involved in football, to be healthy and strong. I’ve seen many talented guys - they have a great future. Most importantly, they should listen to the coaches, develop themselves and not cease to dream.
The organizers marked the youngest participant in the tournament, the nine-year-old Vitalii Kusch (Laurus, Kurakhove), and each of the five girls who took part in the final matches, with special awards.
Darya Letyagina, Kvadrat team captain:
- I've been involved in the Come on, Let’s Play! project since age nine, and I really like it. In each training they teach us a variety of exercises, we play a lot. Football is a very useful sport. We must play it seriously, in order to be healthy and to claim wins. It was nice to receive an award from the best footballer of Ukraine. I hope that when I grow up, I will also be a good player.
As a result of the tournament, several children received invitations to the trials at the Shakhtar Academy from the scouting coaches, which will serve as an additional motivation for them.
The final tournament is over, but FC Shakhtar continues to work on the development of children's grassroots football. These days, the Come on, Let’s Play! project involves eight towns and cities, with over 1,000 kids training on 23 grounds. And that’s just the beginning.
- A great atmosphere, only the most positive emotions of this tournament. I remember myself starting to play football at the age of nine, and I know that this event is a real festival. Now it's such a time that many children stop playing sports, while Shakhtar does their best to get them involved in football, to be healthy and strong. I’ve seen many talented guys - they have a great future. Most importantly, they should listen to the coaches, develop themselves and not cease to dream.
The organizers marked the youngest participant in the tournament, the nine-year-old Vitalii Kusch (Laurus, Kurakhove), and each of the five girls who took part in the final matches, with special awards.
Darya Letyagina, Kvadrat team captain:
- I've been involved in the Come on, Let’s Play! project since age nine, and I really like it. In each training they teach us a variety of exercises, we play a lot. Football is a very useful sport. We must play it seriously, in order to be healthy and to claim wins. It was nice to receive an award from the best footballer of Ukraine. I hope that when I grow up, I will also be a good player.
As a result of the tournament, several children received invitations to the trials at the Shakhtar Academy from the scouting coaches, which will serve as an additional motivation for them.
The final tournament is over, but FC Shakhtar continues to work on the development of children's grassroots football. These days, the Come on, Let’s Play! project involves eight towns and cities, with over 1,000 kids training on 23 grounds. And that’s just the beginning.
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