Coach Kovačević: Vukovar is a good team, but we are going for the win from the first minute

After more than seven years, Dinamo will play an official match in Vinkovci, and after a quarter of a century, they will visit Vukovar in the HNL... This is the time span between previous and current visits of the club from Maksimir in that part of Slavonia.

This Monday at 7 pm in Vinkovci, Dinamo will play the 11th round match of the SuperSport HNL, where they will be welcomed by the team of Vukovar 1991 as the home team. The last time the Vukovar team played in the elite class of Croatian football was in the 1999/2000 season, but back then they hosted Zagreb on the field in Borovo. This time, they will face each other in Vinkovci, where Dinamo last played in a league match in April 2018, defeating Cibalia 2-0, and a month later on the same field, they won the cup by defeating Hajduk in the final match with a score of 1-0. The Blues are heading to Vinkovci four days after the match against Malmo in the 3rd round of the Europa League, where they found their way to the net in the referee's added time in a "co-production" by Luka Stojković, Mounsef Bakrara, and Cardoso Varela for the final score of 1-1.

– I think we managed to rest after Sweden, that extra day off was good for us, especially since we play on Monday. We returned on Friday morning. The team is in good condition, only Scott McKenna has knee problems, we will see if we can count on him.
Everyone else is fine, we know it won't be easy, but we believe and expect nothing but victory – emphasized Dinamo's coach Mario Kovačević.

The people from Vukovar showed in the match at Maksimir, where Dinamo won 3-0, that they are a tough and demanding opponent.

– Here they were very good in the first half, we are aware of that, especially shown in their recent matches against Hajduk and Lokomotiva. They earned a point against Lokomotiva. They are currently at the bottom of the table, but based on their performances, they do not deserve that position. They have quality, for example, Robin Gonzalez and Jakov Puljić are there, they are good up front and we must be cautious. They play particularly well as hosts, but in the end, it will be up to us. It is up to us to show from the first minute that we came for a win, that's how we will approach it.

In the recent match in Malmö, the Blues secured a point with players coming off the bench, which means that coach Kovačević could have "pleasant worries" when forming the lineup.

– Yes, we have "sweet worries" besides McKenna feeling difficulties with his knee. Everyone else is ready, most likely we will refresh the team a bit, they are all good players. There are not many secrets, from the first minute we have to show that we are going for three points.

Dinamo always has strong support from fans in Slavonia.

– Wherever we go, our fans give us a boost, we know how many supporters we have in Slavonia, I am looking forward to this away game. I am sorry that we are not playing in Vukovar, but that's how it is. This time too we will have support, and it is up to us to justify it and celebrate with our fans – concluded coach Kovačević.