Dinamo Zagreb vs Dynamo Kiev Champions League Match Report

Dinamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb draw 1-1 in the last Group A match of the Champions League 2012-13 season at the Maksimir Stadium.

A technically excellent volley by Andriy Yarmolenko in the 46th minute gave Dynamo the lead at the stroke of half-time, but Ivan Krystanovic saved the hosts their first point in the competition by netting a penalty in the 94th minute.

Cold and snowy weather in Zagreb made for an almost complete absence of technical football, with most of the players relying on long balls to find their team-mates. The few Dinamo supporters on hand, however, showed great spirit and created a fiery atmosphere at times with their shouts and chants, despite the freezing conditions.

Assistant coach Olekiy Mykhailychenko was in charge of the Bilo-Syni, as trainer Oleh Blokhin is currently struggling with health issues. He had to leave behind injured attacking-midfielder Niko Kranjcar, who both spent most of their youth career at the Croatian club.

On the hosts' side, Zagreb's new coach Krunoslav Jurcic joined the sidelines, following the departure of Ante Cacic, who was in charge at the capital for only one season. 16-year-old Manchester City interest Alen Halilovic started on the bench.

An early opportunity in the second minute by Brazilian striker Sammir showed that Zagreb were desperate to end their 11-game losing streak in the tournament and finally score points. The weather made it impossible to create any chances, though, with the ball constantly getting stuck in the snow.

Then, in the ninth minute, the encounter was suspended by the referee for player health reasons, as the snow on the pitch became unbearable. The nearly invisible pitch markings were then cleared from the snow and after roughly 17 minutes the clash resumed.

In the 16th minute, forward Duje Cop had a great chance to secure the lead for the hosts after Ukrainian goalkeeper Maksym Koval failed to hold on to the slippery ball. The Croatian international however, could not do better than hitting the woodwork.

Another nearly moment for the Croatian champions followed in the 18th minute, when a back pass to Koval got stuck in the snow and he almost deflected the clearance into his goal via the body of Sammir.

Meanwhile, the guests were likewise looking for opportunities to get the upper hand. A powerful shot by Ideye Brown stopped instantly on the bounce in the 20th minute and the snow prevented it from getting the momentum to roll into the net.

The guests were able to finally open the scoring at the stroke of half-time. Andriy Yarmolenko, who received the ball from Denys Garmash, landed a superbly volleyed chip from the edge of the penalty area over Kelava onto the bar and then into the net.

During the second half, the pitch became increasingly more playable as the snow turned into more of a slush, however, both teams rarely made use of the improved conditions and kept referring to mainly trying to find team-mates with long-range balls.

In the 65th minute, Fatos Beciraj missed a big chance of ending his sides' goal drought in this group stage, when he bore down on goal with no competition, but could not find the the nerves to outplay the Koval.

Ivan Krystanovic finally was able to end his team's goal drought in the Champions League, when he scored a penalty in the 94th minute.

Not much has changed with the result, as both teams were going into the match with their fates already sealed. Having scored only a single point in their Champions League group matches, the Plavi had no chance to escape the bottom of Group A, while the Ukrainians, who sit third, are now set for Europa League action.

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Source: Goal