The senior coach of «Dynamo U-19» commented on his team’s victory against the Swedish club «Brommapojkarna» in the second-leg match of the UEFA Youth League Champions Path for the 2025/2026 season.
Ihor Kostiuk. Photo: fcdynamo.com— We were preparing for this match already understanding how the Swedes would play. With all due respect to the opponent, we should have won by a larger scoreline.
— When the opponent scored at the end of the match, was there a chance they could add more and change something? Was everything under control?
— Of course, there are such moments, but we controlled the game. As you saw, apart from crosses and some chaos in the penalty area, there was nothing. The opponents did not create 100% chances to score. They tried to play long passes behind our defense, released another tall forward into that zone, which is how they scored their only goal — our defenders somewhat «fell asleep.»
Our plan for the game — to defend with a mid-block and break into fast counterattacks — worked. We could have «closed» the game in the first half, but in the second half, we also created many chances, but didn’t convert them. In the end, the opponents launched an all-out attack, and it got a bit tense.
— From the first minutes, «Dynamo» rushed into attacks. After the first goal, it seemed that the opponent had more ball possession. Was this a tactical plan?
— As I mentioned, we planned to meet the opponent with a mid-block, aggressively in midfield, because they had chances in Poland when we played our home match, and then they promised us difficulties on artificial turf. Therefore, we raised our defensive line a bit, understanding that those long passes behind our defense, on such a fast pitch, wouldn’t lead to the moments they planned. And our plan worked. We adapted well during passes behind our defense, and they didn’t reach their intended targets.
— It seemed that the pair of central defenders, Vladyslav Zakharchenko and Danylo Ohorodnik, were the most valuable players of the match. Is this true?
— Of course, when there are transitions and the ball moves quickly from flank to flank, the central defenders cover zones. They understand at a subconscious level how to switch positions. But even so, there were, although minor, ball losses by Zakharchenko and Ohorodnik that led to attacks on our goal. If we eliminate these mistakes, then the central defenders and the whole team played at a fairly decent level.
— At the moment when «Dynamo» made its first substitution and Ivaskiv came on, the opponent had already made five. Yet it was Ivaskiv who scored the goal. Did you succeed with the substitutions?
— It’s not a coincidence, we always say that any player who comes on as a substitute can score. Ivaskiv found himself in the right place at that moment, executed the shot well, and scored. But what we had worked on, what was supposed to work, all the players were performing. So we didn’t make substitutions. If a player faded, we replaced him. We asked them. But all the players played today’s match at a high emotional level, everyone endured. Osypenko, who was substituted, said he would play, but we saw he was no longer keeping up. A big thank you to our players for trusting the coach and fulfilling the demands we place before them. This brings results, and they understand it. After games like this, when they realize that the coach’s instructions they are executing work, it’s like they get wings, and they do it with double motivation.
— Were you surprised by the support from the stands during the match?
— Today, Ukrainians supported us more. We have several girls from Ukraine working at our hotel, and they told us that there would be many representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora at the match today. So we were ready for this. But when the chants of «Dynamo» started from the stands, even the Swedish team was surprised. I want to express gratitude to the Swedish side for initiating this, and to our fans who came to the stadium. We thanked them with a great game and victory.
