On Tuesday, January 20, Dynamo Kyiv played their first friendly match during winter training camp which the team is holding in Turkey. The opponent of “White-Blues” was Korona Kielce, a representative of the Polish Ekstraklasa.
Traditionally first matches of training camps serve as a testing ground for experiments so it was no surprise that Dynamo’s coaching staff fielded a mix of experienced players and youngsters. Among those who got playing time from the starting whistle were goalkeeper Denys Ihnatenko, Maksym Korobov on the right flank of defense, and forward Vladyslav Herych.
Dynamo started the match quite actively and already in the opening minutes created several good chances to open the scoring. In one episode defender cleared the ball off the goal line after a shot by Redushko. A few minutes later Bohdan missed the target with a long-range effort while Popov headed the ball straight into the goalkeeper’s hands when finishing a free-kick cross. In the middle of the half Redushko had another excellent opportunity to score: after a mistake by a Korona defender the young midfielder found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper but failed to assess the situation quickly and shot straight at him.
The Polish side recorded their first shot toward Dynamo’s goal only in the 20th minute and it posed no real danger. Dynamo’s defenders acted reliably, notably Korobov, who produced a fine sliding tackle to block Nikolov’s shot. Rubežić also had a decent header after a corner kick but the ball flew past the post. Overall the game was controlled by Ihor Kostiuk’s side while opponents spent almost the entire match on their own half, hoping for quick counterattacks. However in the second part of the first half this did not lead to any dangerous moments.
At halftime Dynamo’s coaching staff almost completely changed the lineup. However substitutions did not lead to an increase in scoring chances despite Dynamo enjoying more possession. Korona relied mainly on set pieces but they also failed to produce shots on target.
In the 60th minute Shaparenko had a good chance with a shot from inside the penalty area but the ball went just wide. At the other end Stępiński had a great opportunity to score after going one-on-one with Surkis, rounding the goalkeeper but missed the target.
In final minutes the only notable moments were a blocked shot by Shaparenko from inside the box and a long-range volley by Brazhko. Overall neither team did enough to score and the match ended in a goalless draw. Dynamo’s next friendly under Ihor Kostiuk is scheduled for January 25 when they’ll set to face Kosovo’s Malisheva.
Winter Training Camp 2026. First Friendly Match
Dynamo Kyiv – Korona Kielce – 0:0
Dynamo (first half): 74. Ihnatenko, 14. Korobov, 4. D. Popov, 34. Zakharchenko, 2. Vivcharenko, 91. Mykhailenko, 5. Yatsyk (28. Osypenko, 33), 9. Voloshyn, 8. Pikhalonok, 70. Redushko (30. Diallo, 33), 44. Herych.
Dynamo (second half): 71. Surkis, 20. Karavaiev, 40. Bilovar, 66. Thiare, 32. Mykhavko, 6. Brazhko, 10. Shaparenko, 28. Osypenko (15. Rubchynskyi, 64; 28. Osypenko, 76), 22. Kabaiev, 30. Diallo (16. Ogundana, 64), 44. Herych (39. Guerrero, 64).
Korona (starting lineup): 87. Mamla, 2. V. Popov, 61. Budnicki, 23. Rubežić, 6. Pencik, 21. Čížek, 10. Plata, 20. Minučic, 77. Cebula, 11. Nikolov, 7. Blanik.
Yellow card: Herych (39).
