Dynamo U19 head coach Vadym Milko commented on the first leg of the second round of the UEFA Youth League Champions Path against their Scottish counterparts from Rangers, in which the White-Blues claimed a 3:2 victory as the nominal home team:
– The team won, but I suppose the emotions are somewhat overshadowed by the goal you conceded at the end of the game?
– We are all very happy with the victory, but there is still a certain bitter aftertaste. However, nothing terrible has happened: mistakes have been made, are being made and will continue to be made. The main thing is to learn from them, draw the right conclusions and move forward. I believe we played an excellent match today, but made an unfortunate, childish mistake that a goalkeeper should not make. We supported him, and nothing terrible happened.
As for the second goal we conceded, I cannot say for sure whether there was a foul on Ozymay, but the player's shirt was covered in blood. I told the lads not to lose heart: we have played only the first half of the tie. The second half awaits us in Scotland, on Rangers’ home ground.
– From the very first seconds, it was noticeable that whenever the opponents played the ball out, they immediately sent it forward. Were you prepared for this tactic? Did Rangers surprise you in any way?
– We analysed our opponents’ game and drew attention to this aspect. We understood how they would play. Admittedly, we did not have much information about Rangers: we managed to watch only around three of their matches. We analysed them, showed the lads the relevant episodes and highlighted certain details. Overall, the first half was quite good. The only thing that concerns me is our finishing. We create a lot of chances, but unfortunately, we don’t always take them. I feel sorry for the lads because a great deal of work goes into creating every chance. But if we continue to approach our work with the same level of responsibility, everything will be fine.
– However, the team scored twice in the first half. Liusin opened the scoring early, and Fedorenko found the net in stoppage time. Andreyko and Savane also had chances…
– But you saw how things unfolded in the second half. The opponents scored an avoidable goal against us, we scored a third, and at 3:1 we had opportunities to extend our lead: both Andreyko and Fedorenko could have scored.
When you lead 2:0 at half-time, it seems that everything is going well. But experience shows that even with such an advantage, you can concede a goal and make the game more difficult for yourself. Remember our match in Rivne: we were leading 2:0, conceded a goal, and at 2:1, nervousness set in.
I told the lads in the dressing room at half-time that the tie was far from over: we have two matches against them, which means four halves, and we had played only the first one. The team made a decent start to the second half. I emphasised that we needed to score our chances and then travel to Glasgow for the return leg with peace of mind. But we failed to follow that plan completely and made the task more difficult for ourselves.
– How do you plan to organise preparations for the return leg against Rangers, which will take place in just a week?
– To be honest, all our clubs competing in European competitions complain about logistics. I told the lads that I did not want to hear any complaints about it and asked them not even to raise the issue. Yes, the logistics are difficult, and we are living through challenging times. But it is much harder for our soldiers who are defending the country. There are things far more important than logistical difficulties.
We will prepare for the match. Immediately after today’s game, the lads who did not play completed a training session, carried out the required tasks and had a run. They will then have a day off, after which we will gradually begin preparations for the next match against Rangers.
