Kostyuk: The cohesion of the players helped to achieve a positive result

The head coach of Dynamo Kyiv, Ihor Kostyuk, commented in the return match of the opening round of the Europa League qualification against the Romanian University in a series of post-match penalties. "Of course, you are right that in the first half we could have closed the match. We scored two goals, there were still many opportunities. But this is football. You have to give credit to the opposing team, a well-balanced team. We started strongly, in the first half we had the advantage. Today, the unity of the players helped to achieve a positive result. What I said was the spirit that was in the dressing room, and before the game, and on the field. I think that behind as a result of two matches, we played more powerfully and progressed naturally. Did anything surprise you about the University game? Nothing surprised. I have already said that this is a very organized team and you have to give credit to the coach who has built a good defence. But with all that, we created enough chances, especially in the first half. We see the number of legionnaires who play for the University and their quality. In our team, the majority are pupils of our club - both came as substitutes and came out in the main squad. Today, with all the things happening in our country, we rely more on our pets. They are progressing and I think the experience they had today felt the tension and emotions that will help them progress and grow into top players in the future. From match to match we will add, analyze our actions, because this is only the beginning of the season. We are currently playing in the Europa League, and we want to continue playing in it. We have such chances, and we will use them. We also prepared for the penalty shootout - in particular, we analyzed how the goalkeeper acts and how the players perform shots. Before the series itself, the players were once again reminded of what they had seen before, and once again demonstrated how the goalkeeper works. Our goalkeeper was also prepared, we understood how their players take penalty kicks. And I told my wards that when the team is focused, when there is a spirit of winners in the team, it cannot be assumed that the series itself and our victory in it were spontaneous - everything was organized and thought out. We will prepare for the first match against PAOK in Lublin. Finally, I would like to share some good news. Right during the match, our football player Oleksandr Tymchyk gave birth to a daughter. Therefore, we want to congratulate him. This is also an event for our team," the club's press service quotes Kostyuk as saying. Available for viewing on media.