On Tuesday, July 25, the vice-champion of Ukraine “Dnepr-1” made its debut in the most prestigious club tournament in Europe - the Champions League. As part of the second qualifying round, Oleksandr Kucher’s wards hosted Greek Panathinaikos in Kosice.
Champions League. 2nd qualifying round. The first match
Dnipro-1 (Ukraine) - Panathinaikos (Greece) - 1:3
“Dnepr-1”: Kinareykin, Miroshnichenko, Svatok (Adamyuk, 61), Sarapiy, Kravets (Kaplienko, 73), Babenko (Tanchik, 83), Blanco (Gorin, 83), Rubchinsky, Gutsulyak, Tretyakov (Kogut, 61), Dovbyk.
Goals: Tanchik (90) - Shporar (10), Djuricic (74), Ioannidis (84, from the penalty spot).
The Dnipro coaching staff released several elderly newcomers in the starting lineup (defenders Miroshnichenko and Kravets, midfielder Tretyakov), and entrusted the place at the gate to 19-year-old Kinareykin, for whom this fight was his debut in the first team.
Specialists preferred nominal guests both in the reporting match and in the entire confrontation, and Panathinaikos justified its status as a favorite. Already in the 10th minute, the Greek team organized an attack through the left flank, a cross went into its area, and Sporar ferried the ball into the goal from close range.
Wards of Oleksandr Kucher tried to recoup before the break, but did it somehow unconvincingly. Dovbik tried, put pressure, looked for his moment, but in one case he shot unsuccessfully from a semicircle in front of the penalty area, and in another he dropped it on Gutsulyak, who sent the ball over the crossbar.
After the break, the Dnipro team played more boldly, realizing that they had nothing to lose. Gutsulyak famously shot from the penalty area, having beaten the “wall” with Dovbik, but the ball flew just above the goal, a little later Miroshnichenko succeeded in a good free kick, after which the goalkeeper covered the ball in the bottom corner. And how Rubchinsky didn’t score, who shot from outside the penalty area after Dovbik’s rebate - the ball hit the leg of the Panathinaikos defender and treacherously flew over the crossbar.
It seemed that a goal against the Greeks was brewing, but in the 74th minute the Dnipro team “missed” a quick attack through the left flank, followed by a cross to the center, and Djuricic from the semicircle before the free kick shot right into the corner. And the penalty, implemented by Ioannidis, actually deprived this confrontation of any intrigue. And Tanchik’s goal in the 90th minute, which became Dnipro-1’s debut in the most prestigious club tournament in the Old World, only slightly “sweetened” the unfortunate defeat of the Ukrainian team.
Thus, the defeat of Dnipro-1 is 1:3, which puts Oleksandr Kucher’s wards in a very difficult position. Of course, miracles happen in football, but in a week, on August 1, in Athens, the Dnipro team will need to give 300 percent to count on going to the next round.
Earlier reported that “Dynamo” and “Vorskla” recognized their rivals in the qualification of the Conference League.
Source: Fakty
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