Football. Dynamo – Thun – 2:2: Yakupovych's 'Field of Wonders'

Even after the game with Alchevsk "Stal," the problems of the current "Dynamo" were on the surface. The poor play in defense and low conversion of goal-scoring chances in the match with the outsider of the Ukrainian championship did not affect the result for "Dynamo." The Champions League is another matter. It is likely that Buryak was never able to learn lessons from his problems and inspire his players for Europe, which ultimately came back to haunt them at the start of the European competitions.

The 2:2 draw in the first match of the second qualifying round of the Champions League against Swiss "Thun," which is making its debut in this tournament, left an ambiguous impression.

At times "Dynamo" demonstrated fairly powerful play and created a large number of goal-scoring chances. On the other hand, the same low conversion when finishing attacks, failures in defense, and doomed play at the end of the match, when you need to "bite the ground"...

From the first minutes of the game "Dynamo" started actively. However, it was the hosts who could have conceded first. In the 7th minute, Lustrinelli managed to head the ball from under Yussuf and Gavrančić, but fortunately for "Dynamo," it went wide of the goal.

In response, "Dynamo" launched a dangerous attack, but Yakupović pulled Rotan's shot from about 7 meters from under the crossbar, becoming a true hero-savior for "Thun."

In the 11th minute, another failure in "Dynamo's" defense led to Ferreira finding himself one-on-one with Shovkovskyi after a cross from the flank, but the player rushed and his header went just wide of the post.

In turn, Rebrov decided to test "Thun's" goalkeeper, but Yakupović parried the Ukrainian's shot. A few minutes later, Rotan headed the ball from several meters and hit it straight into Yakupović's hands...

However, in the 19th minute, Maksym Shatskykh, having received the ball in the penalty area, laid it off to Husyev, who after running a few meters powerfully "fired" the football between the goalkeeper and the post – 1:0.

This is becoming a tradition, but after scoring a goal "Dynamo" calmed down again and it seemed that they had a handicap of several goals in this game or had completely forgotten that there was also a return leg.

A new surge of activity from the hosts occurred around the 30th minute. Belkevych's ball was deflected after a pass from Rebrov, but it reached Rotan, who struck hard into the corner of the goal, but Yakupović was there... A few seconds later Yakupović was already parrying Husyev's shot into the same corner where the first goal was scored.

In another attack by the Kyivans, Yakupović, running out of the penalty area, saved himself from a "face-to-face" with Shatskykh.

Then it was again the turn of "Dynamo's" defense to misbehave. In the 38th minute, Gerber, abandoned by all defenders on Nesmachnyi's flank, tried to lob Shovkovskyi, but missed the goal.

But "Thun" was rewarded for their efforts. It was the 40th minute and Husyev, clearing the ball near his own penalty area, directed it toward his own goal, where Shovkovskyi, unable to play with his hands, tried to clear it with all other parts of his body and missed, and the leather ball rolled toward Rodolfo, who in a struggle with Lustrinelli deflected the ball into his own net - 1:1.

However, the Swiss were not destined to go into the break with a positive score. In the last minute of the first half, Husyev repaid Shatskykh for the pass by passing to Maksym, who, playing ahead of his marker, from several meters slammed the ball into Yakupović's goal – 2:1.

The second half was only a pale shadow of the first, and "Dynamo" significantly dropped in their aim toward "Thun's" goal and in mobility. In the 53rd minute, Rebrov somewhat livened up the fans, who spectacularly struck with a scissor kick from the penalty line. But not accurately.

Then Buryak resorted to a substitution. And if Rincon's entry onto the field somewhat accelerated and sharpened the game, then Verpakovskis's entry only accelerated it, but without result. The Latvian ran a lot, but to no avail. Neither passes, nor shots, nor won duels were to be expected from him, and this is perhaps the first time when it became clear that the substitution of Shatskykh did not benefit the team's collective actions.

In the 61st minute, Rincon sped down the left flank and passed to Verpakovskis, but he crashed his straight leg into the goalkeeper and received a yellow card...

And again "Dynamo" did not score, "Thun" scored. A completely "gray" attack by the Swiss ended with Lustrinelli's pass to Gerber, who in a fall redirected the ball to Aegerter, who, finding himself in front of Shovkovskyi, equalized with a shot past the goalkeeper - 2:2.

After the goal into their own net, "Dynamo" traditionally went on the assault, but in vain. Rebrov delivered from a corner, Yussuf headed from several meters, but Yakupović demonstrated amazing reflexes.

About 15 minutes before the end of the game, "Thun" ran faster than "Dynamo," and as a result, in the 78th minute, Lustrinelli went one-on-one with Shovkovskyi and fell, but Aegerter picked up the ball and shot accurately into the corner of "Dynamo's" goal, and here Shovkovskyi saved the Kyivans.

Rincon could have put his team ahead, running one-on-one with Yakupović and shooting, but at the last moment Gonçalves got the ball with a sliding tackle and it, changing trajectory, flew past the goal.

Then again there was a onslaught on Yakupović's goal and his saves after point-blank shots from Yussuf and a long-range effort from Rotan. In stoppage time, "Dynamo" did not know what to do with the ball: Aliyev could not remember for a long time to whom to throw the ball in from the sideline, and Yussuf, 1.5 minutes before the end of the game, fumbled with the ball for a long time and eventually lost it in the center of the field... Then came the final whistle, which "froze" the final result on the scoreboard - 2:2.

They say in European competitions "Dynamo" plays better away...?

"Dynamo" (Ukraine) – "Thun" (Switzerland) – 2:2 Goals: Husyev 19, Shatskykh 45, Rodolfo 40 – own goal, Aegerter 64 "Dynamo": Shovkovskyi, Rodolfo, Rebrov, Leko (Aliyev 69), Belkevych (Rincon 58), Rotan, Shatskykh (Verpakovskis 58), Husyev, Nesmachnyi, Gavrančić, Yussuf "Thun": Yakupović, Vieira (Bernardi 89), Miličević, Adriano (Gonçalves 31), Gerber (Gelson 87), Deumi, Aegerter, Lustrinelli, Ferreira, Pallas, Hodžić.