AEK v Dnipro 1 - 1-0. After the match. Oleksandr Kucher: "Playing the first match of the year against such an opponent was very

The head coach of Dnipro 1 Aleksandr Kucher commented on his team's defeat against Cyprus AEK (0-1) in the first leg of the Conference League 1/16 final held yesterday in Larnaca.

"We met AEK when the opponents are, as they say in the season, on a unbeaten streak and generally looking very good. We haven't played official matches for a very long time, so it was very hard to play the first game against such an opponent.

We realized that the opponents will press us, open up, run forward. In that situation, we planned to create space and attack through ball control.

As for the substitutions, they were not chaotic. We should have stepped up the game when we were already losing - we put forward the aggressive Kogut and Nazarenko. I think that they were equal substitutions, because Dovbik was injured, and Pihalenok was already rushed at the end of the match, so we should have replaced them and put fresh forces into the game.

The game of the newcomers on the team - Peglow and Heiner? I can't say they played badly. Of course, they are new players, who have been with us not so long and they are getting accustomed to the team and our game. They will need to understand our principles. I think that from now on it will be better," Kucher said.