Cuba U20 put four past Ulyanyk in the Round of 64 on Tuesday, moving comfortably into the next stage of the Cup. The scoreline read 4:0 after a straightforward afternoon at the stadium. Nicolas opened the scoring early and added a second later, while D. Susak and I. Jelic rounded off the tally.
And here's the thing about how it started — seven minutes in, Nicolas had already found the net. The breakaway caught Ulyanyk flat-footed, and he finished cleanly. Then came the second in the twenty-eighth, a routine finish after a crossed ball that the defence never got behind. By then, the visitors were chasing shadows.
I watched the twenty-minute mark from the stands, and that's when you could see the shift. The home side stopped playing around and started testing the high line. Ulyanyk's back four looked unsure, and it showed in the passing. They threw bodies in the way, but the shape was already loose.
The second half brought two more, though neither surprised. Sixty-four minutes, I. Jelic timed his run perfectly and met the cross without hesitation. Eighty-two, and Nicolas completed his brace from a similar position. Cup football has its own rules, and this one was being played with confidence.
Cuba U20 have been inconsistent — they lost 5:0 to the United States under-20 side a month ago and drew 0:0 with Panama. Ulyanyk came into this with mixed results, including a 3:2 win over Hrvatski Dragovoljac and a 0:0 with Primorje. Both sides knew what was at stake.
That's two goals for Nicolas now, and it matters in a tie like this. The home side control the tie after such a performance. You don't need more than that to keep moving forward.
