Dynamo Kyiv beats Maccabi to qualify for knockout stages
Denys Harmash gave Dynamo Kyiv a 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
If there is a victor in that match (regardless of who it is) Dynamo Kyiv will advance to the knockout stages for the first time since 1999 – when they reached the semi-finals.
The narrow win behind closed doors lifted the capital club up into second, two points behind the English side Chelsea, who won Group G after beating Porto 2-0.
Dynamo go into the draw for the next round on a high having lost just once during the group stage, but will need to improve on this performance if they are to progress further.
The home side thought they had got off to the dream start when Garmash poked home inside two minutes, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside. Maccabi goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic managed to stop the ball going into the net, but could only push it into the path of Harmash, who was left with a simple finish.
Dynamo’s victor came with a slice of luck when Tal Ben Haim diverted a free-kick towards his own goal. Eran Zahavi’s free-kick caused havoc just before half-time when Oleksandr Shovkovskiy spilled the ball on his goal line, but the veteran Dynamo goalkeeper quickly recovered and the hosts held onto their lead.
In the end Maccabi, who scored just one goal in their entire group campaign, lacked the cutting edge to find a way back into the match and Dynamo sealed their place in the last 16.
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