Dinamo Zagreb turn on the style
Tuesday, 25 July 2006
Two
goals by Eduardo Da Silva helped NK Dinamo Zagreb make giant strides
towards the next stage of the UEFA Champions League with a 4-1 second
qualifying group first leg victory against FK Ekranas.
Early opener
Da Silva got Josip Kuže's men
off to the best of starts as early as the seventh minute before further
strikes from Marijan Buljat, Da Silva again and Davor Vugrinec put paid
to the home side's brief equaliser. Da Silva scored the opener after
taking advantage of a misunderstanding between defender Arunas
Klimavičius and goalkeeper Arvydas Skrupskis to steal the ball and make
it 1-0.
Headed equaliser
The hosts appeared
shell-shocked by the turn of events, yet one of their few forays
forward brought them an equaliser. Egidijus Varnas charged down the
wing before serving a teasing cross into the area, which Ekranas’s
leading goalscorer Povilas Lukšys headed in off the crossbar.
Restored advantage
Despite conceding so
unexpectedly, Dinamo were in control and went ahead again on 31
minutes, when Vugrinec played in Buljat, and the midfielder held off a
challenge from Gediminas Paulauskas before scoring from just inside the
area. Towards the end of the half, Ekranas did have chances to level
the match, but both Vaidotas Slekys and Varnas missed their
opportunities.
Dominant mood
Dinamo were in even more
dominant mood after the break and could have added to their lead on 48
minutes when Luka Modrić hit the crossbar with a shot from distance.
Four minutes later, though, Dinamo did grab the third, as they
capitalised on another Ekranas defensive lapse, which allowed Da Silva
to race between two defenders and confidently fire past Skrupskis. The
fourth goal came as a result of a quicksilver counterattack, Etto
providing an inch-perfect cross from the right for Vugrinec to blast
home from seven metres out in the 70th minute.
Mixed reactions
Understandably,
there were contrasting reactions from the two camps after the match
with Ekranas coach Virginijus Liubsys conceding defeat in the tie
already. "It was a catastrophic showing by our defence. This tie is
decided now," he said. Dinamo coach Josip Kuže, on the other hand, wqas
quietly pleased. "I am happy with the result but not entirely satisfied
with how we performed. We committed too many mistakes," he concluded.
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