Dnipro prove the surprise package
Friday, November 26, 2004
Article summary
Group C reaction: FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk coach Evgeniy Kucherevskiy was delighted by his team's progress.
Article body
I am very happy for my team. We have now beaten three successive opponents who underestimated us. I will not single out any of the players, but Serhiy Nazarenko scored a beautiful and important goal. The team carried out our game plan to perfection. We built a defensive line that Austria could not get through, while in attack we often caught them napping with our quick passing and breaking. We will go on playing like this in the next matches as well. Dnipro coach Evgeniy Kucherevskiy
I can't criticise my side. We tried to make the hosts play their game, but it didn't always happen. The tie was decided by one precise shot, which suggests that the teams were evenly matched. Nothing is lost for us yet and we will do all it takes to reach the next round. It all depends on us. Austria coach Günter Kronsteiner
Tonight we witnessed a match between two very similar teams. We have more or less the same qualities and the same system. In games like this it is usually the first team that scores that gets the three points. The red card [for Brugge player Nastja Ceh] was unjustified but I congratulate my players on keeping their calm in the second half. I should also congratulate Rune Lange on his goal. He led the attack for more than 50 minutes and finished off with a beautiful goal. Now we have three points in a group in which anything is possible. We next travel to Austria, free from any pressure. Club Brugge coach Trond Sollied
My team played very well in the first half. Our defence was well organised and managed to stop the attacks from Brugge. The first half was even. Then we thought the red card for Ceh could work to our advantage, but this was not the case. On the contrary, Brugge reorganised well and their coach applied intelligent tactics and changes. I think a draw would have been a fair result considering the chances we created in the second half. But this is the law of European football - when you miss lots of opportunities, it's usually the other team that scores. Utrecht coach Foeke Booy