On 24 August, the first play-off matches of the Conference League and Europa League took place. In the Europa League, Zorya Luhansk played its first match against Slavia Prague and lost 0-2. In the Conference League, Mircea Lucescu's men played a productive match against Besiktas. Former Dynamo player Oleh Venglynskyi commented on the performance of Ukrainian teams in European Cup matches.
Oleg Venglinsky- Oleg, what did Zorya lack in the first match against Slavia?
- We didn't have the patience to hold on to a positive result. With the score 1-0 in favour of the Czechs, it was clear that the Ukrainians wanted to get back into the game, opened up and got the second goal, which practically buried the team's chances of progressing further. We believe that progression is possible, but it will be very difficult. "Slavia was stronger throughout the match. "Zorya played to keep the score close, while the opponent acted from a position of strength.
The Czech team's match against Dnipro-1 showed that they are a very strong mid-table side with quality players. The skill of players like Slavia's allows them to break down the resistance of teams like today's Dnipro-1 and Zorya. Yesterday, Lalatović's team could have clung to a positive result, held off attacks, kept the game going, and had some luck. But a 0-2 defeat will be very difficult to overcome.
- How would you assess the impact of the new head coach on Zorya?
- The Zorya team before Lalatovic was three goals stronger. There was a strong team that played on equal terms with the giants of the Ukrainian championship. Now there is a difference in the quality of the game and the selection of players. Now it is difficult for the team to adapt their attacking actions. Today's Zorya is weaker, the first matches of the championship showed the vulnerabilities of the Luhansk team. The new coach also needs time to adapt, he is just getting to know our football. His Zorya is just at the beginning of its journey, just forming. The 0-2 scoreline clearly shows that the players are still getting used to the requirements of the head coach.
- In European competitions, Ukrainian clubs concede a lot of set pieces. Why?
- This is both a plus for Slavia and a minus for Zorya. The Ukrainian team's disadvantage is that it picked apart the opponent's play, but Slavia is a powerhouse team, the Czechs pushed through Zorya's defence. The opponent plays well on set-pieces, plays the ball out and puts pressure on the opposition defenders. And in the match against Zorya, the Czechs used these skills to the fullest.
Not only for Zorya, but also for our other teams playing in European competitions, a set-piece is like a penalty. Playing set pieces requires concentration, attention, and training. And we don't have all that now.
- What did Dynamo lack in the match against Besiktas?
- With the game almost evenly matched, nothing foreshadowed a goal. When playing in attack, which Kyiv showed in the first half, it is quite difficult to get ready when partly chance plays against you. We gave a penalty, conceded a goal that was not entirely logical, and it threw us off track. It was illogical based on what was happening on the pitch. But we must pay tribute to the Kyiv team, they got out of this situation and continued to play evenly, they had an advantage, but such goals have a psychological impact.
Beşiktaş's team is very experienced, with skilled players who have played for more than a dozen clubs. It was obvious that they were confident in their game, took control of the ball, took a break, it is difficult to play with such a team as the first number. "Dynamo played with a young squad, the guys showed character, fought for the result, for the team, for the country and wanted to make the fans happy.
In my opinion, they played on equal terms. I want to single out Karavayev, he played a strong match, gave away and scored himself, but the "men in black" at VAR did their job, I don't want to blame them, they have their own recommendations. We were unlucky, with a penalty, a goal cancelled, and a lack of experience.
- What did you lack in the last minutes of the game? Was it concentration?
- With the score 2-2, Dynamo ran to win the match because they had fans. But if we had more experience, we would have drawn, the score and level of play were decent and such a score gave us a good chance of a return match. And now there are chances, but 3-2 and 2-2 are different things. This score allows Beşiktaş to play as the second team, to take the initiative, while our guys need to play the handicap. We wanted to score the third, but maybe we should have played more reliably, attentively in defence, there was little time left.
Dynamo's youngsters wanted to win this match: their youth, their expression. Tsarenko, Diallo wanted to win, Vanat tried all game, looking for moments among the experienced defenders of the Turkish team. The coach is always on the verge of risk when making substitutions. By putting Tsarenko on the pitch, Lucescu may have wanted to surprise. He has little playing time, he wanted to bring on a speedy player whom the Turks had not even seen in the game, watching the matches, he wanted to make a non-standard move.
- Does Dynamo have a chance in the return leg?
- The team has a chance, I would like to wish Vanat a goal in the next game against Besiktas and break his goalless streak, it is not very long, but I am worried about his game, I hope that Dynamo will be able to get past the Turks and Vanat will be able to score. We need Ukrainian teams to play well in the return matches. If two of the three teams advance to the group stage, it will be very good, very important for our football and for our country.
