Eight yellow cards and two reds have been shown on Tuesday night at the Estadio Municipal de Braga. Dynamo, who came in Lisbon desperate to score at least one goal, left scoreless to allowed Braga make the progress into the semi finals on away goals. It’s been a very tense match which found the two sides missing dozens of chances when one goal could have been crucial, especially for the Ukrainians. Dynamo had ten attempts on goal while Sporting missed 13 to the dismay of coach Domingos.
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Kravets was the first to receive a yellow card in the 15th minute for a late tackle on Artur Moraes who could have brought a first lead for the home side but for the foul. Three more yellow cards have been shown within two minutes later on. Paulo Cesar left Braga handle a tough situation in the men after being cautioned with a straight red card following a crazy intervention in the 28th minute. One minute later Dynamo got their second booking through Yevhen Khacheridi for talks with the referee.
Braga got their first yellow in the 30th minute. Hugo Viana paid for his fight with the referee as Domingos was going crazy on the bench. The first half included more cards than attempts on goal. Vandinho’s name has also been put down by the Swedish referee with four minutes left. The defender was cautioned for a clumsy intervention. Braga was the first side to besiege Kyiv’s goal, but keeper Shovkovskiy managed to save back-to-back actions in the 44th minute.
Lima tried his luck with a powerful shot five minutes into the second part the same Shovkovskiy tipped away. The 52nd minute brought another yellow card for the visitors. Huisyev paid for a late tackle as Dynamo’s frustration was rising. Braga proved at one point to play much better in ten men than Kyiv in 11. Lima got another chance in the 64th minute following a combinative play with Viana which the striker finished wide. Dynamo replaced Kravets with Denys Garmash in the 65th minute, while Domingos introduced Mossoro for Meyong one minute later.
Even so, things wouldn’t look too different for the visitors. As for Braga, they did manage to develop a better defense play. Popov brought another yellow card for the Ukrainians in the 73rd minute, being cautioned for an ugly intervention on newly-introduced Mossoro. Things got much worse for Dynamo as the same left defender received a second yellow card with two minutes left. Lima got a last chance in the 89th minute, but his shot almost shaved the crossbar in what should have been a screamer. He was then replaced by Helder Barbosa.
Sporting will next play compatriots Benfica, the first leg being scheduled to take place on April 28 at the Estadio da Luz. Benfica have reached the semi finals thanks to a 6-3 aggregate over PSV whom they held 2-2 in Eindhoven. The second semi final will be disputed between FC Porto and Villarreal. Porto eased through the best four after ousting Spartak Moscow 10-3 on aggregate, while the Spaniards have progressed in the same phase following a 8-2 overall result against FC Twente.
Sporting Braga – Artur; Silvio, Paulao, Vandinho, Paulo Cesar; Viana, Custodio, Salino; Alan, Lima; Meyong. Reserves: J. Peterson, C. Figueiredo, J. Pedro, Dani, Anibal, H. Barbosa, M. Mossoro.
Dynamo Kyiv – Shovkovski; Silva, Hacherydy, Yussuf, Popov; Husyev, Eremenko, Vukojevic, Yarmolenko; Kravets, Milevsky. Reserves: M. Koval, Betao, D. Garmash, L. Almeida, B. El Kaddouri, R. Zozulya, T. Mykhalik
