The youth team of Dynamo Kyiv (U-19) played the second match at the FC Aesch Under 19 International Football Tournament taking place in Switzerland.
After the defeat of Basel (5:1) in the opening match of the group stage of the competition, the wards of Igor Kostyuk met with the English Fulham, the match with which became a test of endurance and physical readiness.
FC Aesch Under 19 International Football Tournament
Fulham U-19 (London, England) — Dynamo U-19 (Kyiv, Ukraine) - 2:1 (1:1)
Goals: Robinson (14), McCoy-Splatt (43) - Gorbach (33)
Dynamo: Avramenko, Gusev, Sizonyuk, Filatov, Benedyuk (K), Balaba, Salenko, Yanchishin, Slesar, Kremchanin, Gorbach. The following came out for replacements: Groholsky, Matkevich.
From the first minutes, Fulham seized the initiative and acted as the first number, moving towards Avramenko's goal using both flanks. Dynamo tried to use quick counterattacks, however, in the starting third of the first half, there were no chances at the gates of both teams, while the referee of the match fixed a large number of small fouls.
In the 14th minute, one of Fulham's corners turned into a goal — tall Londoners defender Charlie Robinson won the top fight and sent the ball into Avramenko's goal with his head.
A few minutes later, Fulham could build on their success by recovering the ball in the center of the field and making a quick attack from the right wing, which ended with a transfer to the penalty area and a low shot from Oliver Gofford from 11 meters - a little inaccurate. Gordon Lemar, in turn, shot dangerously from the penalty area next to the post.
After the equator of the first half (the tournament regulations provide for 35-minute halves), Dynamo began to possess the ball more often and quite naturally equalized the score. At first, Salenko tried to hit the goal with long-range shots, and Balaba lost a great moment, missing the target from a few meters after Kremchanin's cross from a free kick.
Two minutes before the whistle for a break, Gusev and Slesar organized an attack on the right flank, and Gorbach closed the cross into the penalty area with his head - 1:1.
The starting minutes of the second half were left for Dynamo — our team applied high pressure and pressed the opponents to their goal. However, Fulham's first counterattack ended in a penalty kick - Dynamo's defenders did not hold Gordon, and Avramenko, having gone out of the gate, was forced to stop the opponent with a foul.
Fulham captain Delano McCoy-Splatt carried out the verdict of the referee, choosing the goalkeeper's left corner to kick, while Avramenko jumped into the right - 2:1.
Soon a small scuffle arose on the field - the referee appointed a free kick within the Fulham penalty area in favor of Dynamo, with which the British did not agree. And the most active participants in the conflict - McCoy-Splatt and Gorbach - received warnings. However, the Dynamo team failed to use the standard - Fulham goalkeeper McNally reacted to the same Gorbach's kick.
In the final minutes of the match, Andrei Matkevich, who came on as a substitute, stood out in Dynamo's attack. He hit the Londoners twice, but McNally reacted to the first shot from 13 meters away, and the second shot, from the penalty line, went above the goal.
The score on the scoreboard remained unchanged - 2:1 in favor of Fulham.
Dynamo will play the third and final match of the group stage today, July 30, against the Mexican Tigres (beginning at 11:30 am Kyiv time). Interestingly, the semi-final matches of the tournament are scheduled for the evening of the same day.
