Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Vitaliy Kosovskiy shared his impressions of the first match of his former team with Austrian Salzburg (0:2) in the play-off round of the Champions League qualification.
- I was looking forward to this confrontation in Lublin, and my hopes were justified: the opponents demonstrated spectacular soccer and were pleased with the intensity. Of course, we were not without individual errors, but, unfortunately, Salzburg took better advantage of them.
- Did the teams surprise you with any tactical preparations?
- No, as expected offensively, they used three players up front, while Dynamo switched to a 4-2-3-1 scheme in possession.
- Many experts argued in their comments that things could have ended differently for Kyiv if Andriy Yarmolenko had realized at least one of his chances at the beginning of the match.
- Perhaps, but what is there to guess now. The visitors scored on time. In the opening period there were threats at their possession, but it was all right. In the 29th minute, they took advantage of a striking counterattack, which ended with a spectacular goal, which helped the nominal hosts' offensive rush to be thwarted and feel more confident. A penalty kick converted just after the break made the visitors the favorites to win the game in Lublin.
- Did you like Salzburg?
- Yes, I can't even believe that the visitors were mostly young players. They are well-trained, their intensity is amazing, they do everything on time, remember their pressing in the third zone. This is a promising team. And that's why I would like to praise Dynamo players, who, despite this development, clearly stuck to their line in search of the shortest way to the opponent's goal. And it is a pity that even after the break the realization failed, because even one scored goal significantly increased the chances of getting into the main part of the Champions League.
- Then what can Ukrainian soccer fans hope for in the second confrontation between these rivals next week in Austria?
- I have no doubt that there will be a hard fight literally on every scrap of the soccer field. In my opinion, Dynamo will bet on a quick goal, so the appearance of Oleksandr Tymchyk and Nazar Voloshyn in the starting lineup is not excluded. If Kyiv team will score first, the intrigue will return at once, and, taking into account the youth of Salzburg players, they may lack composure and will not be without mistakes. I hope that Oleksandr Shovkovskiy, the manager of Kyiv, is now calculating all the options and will stop on the one that will bring more benefit. I am optimistic.
Mykola Stepanov