Despite a 3-1 first-leg victory tipping the play-off tie firmly in FC Dynamo Kyiv's favour, the Ukrainian club are refusing to take anything for granted ahead of next week's second leg. Yuri Semin's side capitalised on Luuk de Jong's misfortune as the Dutchman's late own goal sealed an impressive away result but, as midfielder Niko Kranjčar underlined, Dynamo are only "halfway" to the UEFA Champions League group stage. For VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, Tony Jantschke summed the evening up in a word: "frustration".
Niko Kranjčar, Dynamo midfielder
Of course we're happy, it's a great result for us, but we know the job is only halfway done. We have to be confident, but we also have to cautious because we didn't control the game early on. We have to try to dominant for 90 minutes and get rid of that 30-minute shaky period. We knew they would be tough to break down early on and they proved that.
They are a composed team, pass the ball well and are dangerous when you allow them to play their game. Sure, we're not happy about how we opened the game, but when you come from a difficult away game with a 3-1 win you have to be happy
. The target now is just to go through. It's a big thing for us to play in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and we're almost there so we have to be smart.
Taye Taiwo, Dynamo defender
It was a lovely game and we're happy we got the win. We fought hard to come back from a goal down. The coach told us that we would have to be strong in defence, to fight hard because German teams work very hard and are dangerous. We're very happy with the performance.
When you play away from home you have to bury every chance you get and we did that tonight. That was important for us. We don't need to sit back too much in the second leg, but we know they're a good side so we will be careful.
Tony Jantschke, Mönchengladbach defender
We had a grip on the game and, early on, Dynamo didn't know what was going on. But after going ahead, we lost the equaliser to a set piece then went a goal down from a counterattack. Their third goal came from another set piece so there was a lot of frustration in the dressing room after the game.
For me, we had the better chances, the fans created a great atmosphere, but unfortunately it wasn't our night. But I still believe we have a chance in Ukraine.
It's difficult, we know that, because they are very strong at home, but it's not impossible.
Alexander Ring, Mönchengladbach forward
We can't let our heads drop, but it was a frustrating night. We weren't clinical enough on the night, perhaps we didn't move the ball quickly enough. But I don't think we played poorly, our opponent did a good job. It was a tight, difficult game for us, but I don't think it was down to a lack of experience. It's just that we didn't show a clinical side and our concentration let us down in some key situations.
