Stojković relieved as Sporting hold on

Goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković was relieved to leave the NSC Olympiyskiy Stadium with all three points after his inspired performance helped Sporting Clube de Portugal earn a 2-1 win against FC Dynamo Kyiv in UEFA Champions League Group F.

'Pressure'
Stojković was beaten once on the night by Vladyslav Vaschuk but first-half goals from Tonel and Anderson Polga made sure of the points despite Dynamo pinning Sporting back in their half for much of the match. "Dynamo had our defence under pressure throughout the 90 minutes," Stojković said. "Their football may have not been that impressive, but that was not just their fault, it was also down to us because we managed to force Dynamo to play in our style."

'Alert'
The 24-year-old Serbian goalkeeper twice saved well from both Kleber and Carlos Corrêa as Dynamo pressed. "I had to be alert all the time and the ball seemed to come out of nowhere several times which was very difficult," he said. "I'm glad we held on to win. This victory gives us the chance to progress from this group."

Good fortune
Sporting now face AS Roma in back-to-back fixtures with both sides on three points after two matches. Substitute Marat Izmailov will be hoping his side's good fortune continues. "We had some good luck at times, but we controlled the course of the game in general," he said. "We had to work very hard all the time to do that. We managed to force Dynamo into a battle for the midfield and won the majority of the physical duels which also told."