Dynamo delight at second-half showing

FC Dynamo Kyiv's Miloš Ninković and Goran Popov were full of praise for the way the Ukrainian side turned their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Feyenoord around at the Olympic Stadium.

Trailing to Ruben Schaken's 49th-minute opener, the Bilo-Syni established a narrow lead to take into next week's second leg thanks to a Lex Immers own goal and Ideye Brown's fifth strike in four matches.

Both players cited Yuri Semin's changes as being the catalyst for the second-half comeback, with Popov describing substitute Oleh Gusev's contribution as "fantastic", although Ninković warned that Dynamo must maintain that level of performance for 90 minutes if they are to stand any chance of progressing.

Miloš Ninković, Dynamo midfielder
The most important thing is that we won. In the first half we played awfully, but in the second, especially during the last 30 minutes, we played like we were supposed to. We need to play at this level for 90 minutes. If this had been the case then the result would have been different. After we conceded a goal we put more attacking players on the pitch and created more opportunities.

Perhaps Feyenoord tired a little towards the end but at the same time we stepped up the pace and increased the pressure. If we had we not changed our performance after the break then we would have lost. It will be very hard in the second match, and if we play like we did in the first half we will not qualify. However, if we play like we did in the second half we will have a great chance of going through.

Goran Popov, Dynamo defender
I disagree that we played badly in the first half. We controlled the ball well in midfield but, unfortunately, were not able to get it forward. Our coach made great substitutions in the second half, and it changed everything. [Oleh] Gusev was fantastic and he had chances as well as providing a superb assist for Ideye Brown.

We played very well in the second half. We scored two goals and created many more opportunities. If we play this way in Rotterdam it will be easy for us to win there, despite the support of the Dutch fans. I know them very well and I like playing against teams from the Netherlands.

Stefan de Vrij, Feyenoord captain
I can live with this result. We scored a good goal, but then conceded an unnecessary goal which made it difficult for us. In the first half we controlled the game and played well but in the second half, after we scored, they put us under more pressure. They have a lot of quality, especially in their forwards and they made it difficult for us.

We were a little lucky at the end of the match. We had to be careful with the ball but in the second half it didn't work as well as it did before the break. A team like Dynamo always create something, as they showed in the second half.

Ruben Schaken, Feyenoord striker
Losing 2-1 is a good result when you play away from home. Now Dynamo Kyiv have to come to us and it will be very difficult for them. I would be happy if it is 1-0 to us and we go through. We know that Dynamo are a very good team but so are we, and now we will see how good we are.

The Kyiv side had three games before this one, while we have not played a competitive match this season. It would have been better if our season had already started but that is not an excuse. Unfortunately we didn't win today but in the end, we were lucky to only lose 2-1 because they had a lot of chances in the last 30 minutes.