24.07.2022 19:30

 

Slavia Prague play Dynamo Kyiv in a match that will decide which of them can get the winning ticket for the final against the Brazilians of Palmeiras. Going into the match, Slavia has a tally of two goals for and one against, while Dynamo has one for and none against. As such, the only result available to the Ukrainians is a victory if they want to continue their adventure, but for Slavia a simple tie will suffice. Who will manage to realize their dream of making it to the final and who will instead fall?

The first ten minutes of the match revealed that it would be a cagey affair, with both teams not wanting to risk much. As such, the level of excitement was wanting, with no real chances of note if not for a moment at the 5^th for Dynamo, but the keeper eliminated the threat by coming out of his box and clearing the ball. The next moment of note was a low cross over the small box at the 17^th by Dynamo, but nothing came of it. At the 25^th Tsarenko let off a nice shot from outside the box, but it went just over the crossbar. Three minutes later, Lopatar was given a yellow card after trying to stop an attack. It was at the 32^nd that everything changed thanks to Slesar's goal, which put Dynamo in the lead. The Ukrainians then tried to double their score at the 34^th, first with Yatsyk and right after with Dzen. The second goal did come, though, at the 37^th after a beautiful collective play by Dynamo ended with Yatsyk placing a low cut shot into the left hand corner. The last three minutes, plus two of injury time, provided nothing more in terms of chances or goals.

Slavia faced an uphill battle going into the second half. To keep their hopes alive they needed to score quickly and then press on for another. As such, it was no surprise that they came out swinging, but their attempts at attacking were thwarted by a careful Dynamo defense and a pinch of bad luck. However, lady luck finally smiled at the Czechs, first at the 54^th with Dufek, who dribbled past the defense inside the box and scored the first goal, and a mere minute later with Hajek, who found the tying goal with a wonderful solo play that was capped with a superb shot into the back of the net. At that point, Slavia tried to press on more to find the winning goal to no avail. In fact, it was Dynamo who created the next real chance at the 67^th with Matkevych after a nice play inside the box. The Ukrainians did find the back of the net again at the 70^th after Benediuk found Tsarenko all alone inside the box, but he was judged to be offside and the goal was disallowed, much to the relief of the Czechs. After that, Dynamo wasn't able to really create much more, and the match ended with Slavia having the last chance with a header in the dying seconds.

Both teams played splendidly, giving us perhaps the most exciting match of the tournament yet. Dynamo closed the first half with a two goal lead, seemingly the stronger of the two, but then things turned around with an incredible two minutes that saw Slavia tie up things. Though the Ukrainians did score another goal, it was no more than a heartbreaking mirage because of the player's offside position. The Czechs, in the end, gave a great collective display of resilience and determination that, although didn't give them the win, was enough to see them through to their very first CEE Cup final. Dynamo goes back home with a bitter taste in their mouths but with their heads held high as they made a troubled nation proud.