Dynamo defuse Feyenoord threat

Feyenoord coach Bert Van Marwijk accused FC Dynamo Kyiv of employing negative tactics in their scoreless draw in UEFA Champions League Group E on Tuesday, admitting there was no way for his side to break down the resilient Ukrainians.

Dynamo slow pace
In a match with precious few clear-cut chances, Dynamo sat back and waited to counter, forcing the Dutch side to make the running. "We started well in the first half and could have gone ahead but we simply could not pressurise the Dynamo defence as they were intent on slowing the pace of the game," he said. "This meant we didn't have as many attempts on goal as we would have liked."

New dimension
Van Marwijk brought a new dimension to the encounter by introducing forwards Robin Van Persie and Bonaventure Kalou after the interval but the goal Feyenoord so desperately wanted remained elusive. "In the second half I replaced Sebastián Pardo and Thomas Buffell to get more flow and it worked as we could have scored a few times," he said. "But although we were creating more we didn't have much luck and couldn't get the goal."

Bad feeling
Striker Pierre Van Hooijdonk admitted he was never sure where a goal was going to come from. "It was a very tough game," he said. "They had strong defenders and I didn't have the feeling that we were going to win." The former SL Benfica and Nottingham Forest FC star was keen to stress that it was not selfishness that inspired him to take every free-kick in a threatening position. "I had some discussions with Patrick Paauwe, who is also very good with free-kicks but he didn't feel confident so I had to take them," he added.

Tight defence
Defender Paauwe echoed the sentiments of Van Marwijk, claiming that Dynamo's approach did his side few favours in a match where most attempts on goal came from distance. "Their defence was tight and we were afraid of being caught on the counter," he said. "That's why the defenders couldn't provide much in the way of support to the midfield."

Mykhaylychenko satisfied
Dynamo coach Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, however, was more than satisfied, even though his side have only collected a point in the past two matches after defeating Newcastle FC in their opener. "I was very satisfied and the team haven't performed very well in the past two games," he said. "I was especially pleased with the goalkeeper, Vitaliy Reva as his contribution has left a little to be desired recently."

Points vital
Three of Dynamo's past four games in the Netherlands have ended in 2-1 defeats, so Mykhaylychenko had good reason to be content, though his side will need to collect points against Feyenoord at the Olimpiyskyi stadium in three weeks' time if they are to stake a claim for a spot in the second group stage.