Former Shakhtar footballer Serhiy Yashchenko shared his impressions of the match of the final, 6th round of the group stage of the Conference League between the Dutch AZ and Dnipro-1 (2:1), and also assessed the performance of Dnipro in this European Cup tournament. Recall that Oleksandr Kucher’s team took second place in their group and will now continue to play in the playoffs of the Conference League.
Sergey Yashchenko- Dnipro-1 solved the main task even a round before the end of the group stage - reached the playoff round of the Conference League. And how would you evaluate the outcome of the match between Dnipro and AZ?
- We can safely say that the game went on equal terms. "Dnepr-1" opposed the group leader, who takes third place in the Dutch championship. AZ football players, as hosts, had a small initiative, but they did not have a clear advantage. Only at the end of the match the hosts scored the second goal.
- In this episode, Sarapiy made a gross mistake, who, while holding the ball near his own penalty area, made an inaccurate pass to a partner who was seven meters away from him. And after all, no one put pressure on Sarapiy
— Probably, this is the level of technical equipment of the player. Mistakes, at this level, no one forgives. Instead of organizing our attack with the score 1:1, we get the ball into our own net. The central defender needs to play reliably and strictly in defense.
- Perhaps Oleksandr Kucher lacked the depth of the squad - there were only a few players in the reserve?
“Probably so. Only the head coach knows the full picture. Someone is injured, someone has game plan problems. Of course, substitutions could have strengthened the game, but...
- Artem Dovbik scored 5 goals in the group stage of the Conference League and this is the best result in the tournament. How do you like his game?
- Artem has grown into a good, athletic striker. There is no doubt that he became the leader of his team. When he has a game, this is a formidable force. It is important that Artem became one of the leaders in the national team of Ukraine.
- Playing for the first time in European competitions, Dnipro-1 left the group for the spring stage. How do we evaluate the performances of Oleksandr Kucher's wards?
- This is an excellent result. Dnipro did not hesitate, they showed mature football. In all games, they looked decent and deservedly reached the playoff round.
