Dynamo Kyiv played the second leg of the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League against Azerbaijani side Qarabag in Baku.
Ihor Kostiuk’s men arrived in the Azerbaijani capital with a one-goal advantage after last week’s game in Lublin, but the hosts showed from the start that they were determined to turn the tie around.
In the 3rd minute Muaddib delivered a fine cross from the right flank to the far post, where Zoubir was waiting, but he shot wide. Then, in the 12th minute, Qarabag opened the scoring. Zoubir beat Sych on the left flank and sent a delicate cross into the penalty area. His teammate failed to get a proper shot away, but the ball fell nicely to Muaddib, who fired precisely into the top corner – 1:0.
Encouraged by their success, the hosts continued attacking and soon could have doubled their advantage. In the 16th minute, following a corner, Jafarquliyev met the ball at the far post but shot wide.
Dynamo subsequently managed to move the game away from their own goal, and in the second half of the first period, chances began to appear at the opponents’ end as well. In particular, in the 31st minute, Guerrero shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the goalkeeper made an excellent save. Shortly afterwards, Ponomarenko attempted to find the far corner following a corner kick, while Bilovar, finding himself in the ball’s path, was unable to redirect it into the net.
Dynamo started the second half even more actively and should have equalized. In the 50th minute, Brazhko had a one-on-one opportunity after intercepting a back pass from a Qarabag defender. However, the Dynamo midfielder could not beat the goalkeeper, with Zlomyslic making a save and turning the ball behind for a corner. In the 54th minute, following a corner from the right flank, the ball reached almost the far corner of the six-yard box, where Ponomarenko escaped his marker and headed toward goal, but unfortunately the ball went wide.
In the 62nd minute, Ihor Kostiuk’s side did manage to score when Guerrero found Dubinchak on the edge of the penalty area with a pass from the right flank, and the full-back fired accurately into the corner. However, the officials ruled out the goal, with Vladyslav adjudged to have been offside.
The exchange of chances continued. Kashchuk lacked accuracy when attempting to find the top-right corner from the left side of the penalty area. Brazhko played a fine vertical pass to put Ponomarenko through on goal, but a defender stayed alert and managed to knock the ball away from Matvii’s feet. In another episode, Surkis saved the Blue and Whites, using his foot to parry a close-range effort from Jafarquliyev near the left corner of the six-yard box.
Unfortunately, in one of the next attacks, the hosts doubled their advantage. In the 69th minute, Jafarquliyev was again involved in the danger as he sent a low cross from the left flank under Sych, and Kashchuk got to the ball first and found the net – 2:0.
A series of substitutions did not lead to any significant change in the pattern of the game. In the 78th minute, Qarabag came close to scoring a third, but Sefas failed to meet Kashchuk’s cross at the far post. For Dynamo, the only notable chances were a header from Ogundana, who met Rubchynskyi’s cross, and a long-range effort from Mykhavko. In stoppage time, Mykhavko joined an attacking move following a corner but, unfortunately, could not direct his header on target.
Thus, Dynamo end their European campaign for the current season and will now focus on their domestic competitions.
