Excellent play for large parts of the match with moments of dominance, but dropped points due to occasional mistakes and lack of concentration... That's how it was against Tottenham's youth team in England in the Premier League International Cup, and that's how it was in league matches against Sesvete in Zaprešić and away to Dugopolje. Dinamo B have dropped points in their last three matches despite providing good and attractive football for large parts of the games. A new challenge awaits them on Friday at 3 PM in Zaprešić when they will host the league's second-placed team, Mladost from Ždralovi, in the 7th round of the SuperSport First NL.

– We've played many matches in a short period, and in some of them, considering our play, we deserved a better result, but that's football. The boys must also get used to the fact that sometimes the result won't be what they perhaps deserved with their performance. The first half cost us in Dugopolje, but now I expect a much better start to the match – highlighted coach Jerko Leko.

Dugopolje led 3-0, but Dinamo B came close to turning the match around in the final half hour. The Blues scored two goals and were on the verge of earning a point.

– Some of our players, for example, played in that match with a fever and headache, but they must communicate this to us earlier so the team doesn't suffer. This was felt especially in that first half, so we had to react. In the end, we were close to overcoming the three-goal deficit and equalizing, their goalkeeper made excellent saves. The boys see that they can do it, and that's important. I say, sometimes it happens that points are missing even though you deserved them, but that's also a school we said we'd have to pay for. We must reduce mistakes to a minimum so that in the final stages, when we see we can dominate, we go for the win rather than chase a deficit. This is the opening half-season, the second one should be much more mature and responsible. Still, we are Dinamo and we must learn to pull through matches and achieve victory. That's what we expect on Friday against Mladost from Ždralovi, an opponent who is one of the better teams in the league.

What detail is missing for the result to go Dinamo's way? Perhaps something more solid in duels, greater concentration in the final third, a bit of luck...?

– A bit of everything, including duel play in certain situations. For Dugopolje, for instance, Mijo Caktaš and Andrija Balić played, experienced players who have better positioning, composure... We perhaps lack some older players. But we knew this would be a problem beforehand. Concentration is also important. When they were in youth football, opponents wouldn't punish their mistakes, but here it's different. Here they will punish every mistake. Regardless of the three goals conceded, I think we're heading in the right direction. Some individuals already understand everything better and are more responsible, others need a bit more time. We must be patient.

Coach Leko will have to field a somewhat different lineup on this occasion.

– Our squad is slightly weakened due to the absence of players who are involved with national teams like Gabrijel Šivalec, Jona Benkotić, Krešimir Radoš, Kaloyan Bozhkov... Despite this, we didn't want to postpone matches but will play with the squad we have available. After all, this is an opportunity for those who want to prove themselves and get more playing time. We'll see what condition Noah Nsoki will be in, he trains with the first team, he had health issues and we'll see if he'll be ready for Friday. We've arranged for Ivan Paunović and Nikola Radnić to play for us because we have problems in defense considering that Borna Orlić is still injured. In central defense, therefore, should be Petar Šimun Žaja and Nikola Radnić. Sven Šunta is slowly returning to rhythm in midfield, he came off the bench in Dugopolje and was good. Now he'll be a starter. I hope we'll also be more effective in attack – concluded coach Leko.