Former midfielder of the national team of Ukraine Yuriy Shelepnytskyi in an interview "TEAM1" shared his impressions of the first match of the playoff round of the Europa League qualification between Dnipro-1 and AEK Cyprus (1:2), which took place yesterday.
Yury Shelepnytskyi— The days when football teams from Cyprus were, as they say, whipping boys on the international stage, have long since faded into oblivion. Thanks to the fruitful work with the change, the invitation of qualified legionnaires - coaches and players, the clubs from this country gradually forced themselves to be reckoned with. So, the Dnipro visa, AEK, in the Champions League qualification gave a fight to the more famous "Midtjullan" from Denmark, and in the previous round of the Europa League forced the capitulation of the Serbian Partizan, which was also considered a favorite.
— So, there could be no question of any underestimation on the part of the Dnipro people?
- Of course. And the unsuccessful first half can be explained by the appearance in the starting line-up of "Dnipro-1" of several legionnaires at once, who joined the team very recently, and therefore the play was clearly lacking, especially with the diagonal backup. That is why there were vulnerabilities in the defense of the nominal hosts on the flanks, and it is good that only two goals were conceded.
— However, the fact that the Dnipro people were toothless in the offensive was also unpleasantly surprising...
— The guests managed to neutralize Artem Dovbyk, who was placed at the head of the attack, in the end, he did not create any inconvenience for them with his incomprehensible passivity. In my opinion, Dovbyk should have been more active in his search for the ball, in particular, tried to act from the depth of the field. Especially since long-range shots from Dnipro became easy prey for the goalkeeper of AEK.
— What did Oleksandr Kucher, the new helmsman, have to pay attention to during the break in order to achieve a breakthrough?
— First of all, it was necessary to increase aggression, use high pressing as a weapon, act more tenaciously in selection. Secondly, it was necessary to strengthen the offensive line. And it must be said that after the break we saw a completely different Dnipro-1. It turned out that Dovbyk can hold on to the ball and not only single-handedly threaten the guests' possession, but also skillfully assist partners. The replacement of the experienced Artem Gromov was a successful one, for which the Cypriots were not always ready to penetrate the penalty area, they also had problems after the hosts' vertical passes. Goal-scoring opportunities began to appear at the AEK goal, and if they were lucky with the implementation, the Dnipro team could save what seemed like a hopelessly lost match...
— So, despite the defeat in Kosice, you do not consider Dnipro-1 doomed?
— No, the second half gave hope that all is not lost yet. We must seriously work on our mistakes and try to play in Larnaca as we did after the break in Kosice. AEK did not make the impression of an impenetrable team. The only thing that bothers me is the short reserve bench of the Dnipro team and the fact that, due to Russia's aggression, there is a great lack of experience in official matches...
Vasyl MYKHAILOV
