Dinamo Minsk make history with win at Fiorentina
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Article summary
ACF Fiorentina 1-2 FC Dinamo Minsk
Vladimir Zhuravel's side bow out on a high after becoming the first Belarusian outfit to beat Italian opposition in 12 attempts.
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• Dinamo Minsk become first Belarusian side to beat Italian opposition
• Defender Sergei Kontsevoi scores his first goal in 14 months
• Fiorentina already confirmed as Group K winners; Dinamo Minsk in fourth
• Simone Minelli, 17, sets up goal on first-team debut
• Round of 32 draw takes place in Nyon at 13.00CET on 15 December
FC Dinamo Minsk bowed out on an unprecedented high with a 2-1 win at ACF Fiorentina as they became the first Belarusian side to beat Italian opposition in UEFA competition.
The sides' fates at either extreme of the Group K table was decided before this meeting in Tuscany, but the visitors' greater hunger was evident throughout. Goals either side of half-time from Sergei Kontsevoi and Nemanja Nikolić did the damage, and though the Viola then awoke from their torpor, with Marko Marin pulling one back, they could not find an equaliser even after Oleg Veretilo's late red card.
The home team had an unbeaten record in Europe to preserve, but, until the hour mark, when they laid siege to the visitors' goal, Dinamo Minsk's need seemed greater. Fiorentina bossed possession and territory, yet it was all a bit lacklustre. The visitors provided more vim, menacing on the break, with Nikolić drawing a brilliant save from Ciprian Tătăruşanu and Nenad Adamović so nearly forcing in the rebound.
Fiorentina briefly upped their game. Marin was not quite able to bend a shot in, while Simone Minelli, an early replacement for the injured Juan Cuadrado, beat the offside trap expertly; with the goal at his mercy, however, the 17-year-old in him snatched at it. Six minutes before the break they were trailing, as Kontsevoi lashed in his first goal since last October.
Ten minutes after the restart it was 2-0 as the visitors broke at pace, Adamović turning the ball first time for Nikolić to side-foot in. Marin halved the deficit late on, but it was no more than a consolation as Dinamo Minsk broke Belarus's Italian duck at the 12th attempt.