ILLIA Zabarnyi claimed his first Cherries goal in front of his family, stating that it was “incredible” to get off the mark for the club.
Centre-half Zabarnyi grabbed the second goal in Cherries’ remarkable comeback from a 3-0 deficit at half time against Luton Town.
Dominic Solanke had pulled one back before Zabarnyi nodded home on the hour mark.
Antoine Semenyo rounded off the comeback with a brace, Cherries becoming just the third side in Premier League history to overhaul a three-goal deficit at half time and win a game come the final whistle.
Zabaryni’s family had flown over from Ukraine to take in the 21-year-old’s games against Sheffield United and Luton Town, their first Cherries matches.
The defender is Cherries’ only ever-present in the league this term, having played every minute of all 28 Premier League fixtures.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, the Ukrainian international shared: “My family was in the stadium. It’s an amazing goal. I don’t score a lot of goals, but I want to start help as much as possible.
“For me it’s important, because my family were here.
“For my country, because I know my people were watching me. I am so proud to be a part of this country, and I wish to my people all the best.
“They came here for the past week, for a visit here. It’s amazing. They enjoyed the Premier League games.
“The past game, against Sheffield United (was their first) but after the game they said they need some more pills because it is very stressful!”
Discussing the fight back, Zabaryni continued: “It’s incredible.
“When you’re losing 3-0 in the first half, your mind is difficult to switch, because you’ve just conceded three goals, of course it beats you.
“But our team is amazing, we tried to react quickly. We analysed our mistakes, and we just come into the second half and fight together.
“We just lost a couple duels when they scored, so made little corrections with our tactics. We started to win our duels.”
Zabarnyi has been selected for Ukraine’s upcoming Euro play-off semi-final against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Thursday in Zenica.
If the Ukrainians are victorious, they will face the winners of the Israel v Iceland in the play-off final.
Defeat against Bosnia & Herzegovina would set up a friendly against the losers of Israel v Iceland.
Former Dynamo Kyiv defender Zabarnyi has 31 caps for his country.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel