Coach Kovačević: We are all looking forward to the match, we will go for victory from the first minute
Match Preview
Two Dinamo victories in three matches against Hajduk this season, both of them – in Split. That has been the record so far, and now the desire is to delight the blue fans at Maksimir Stadium as well. With such a mission, Dinamo's footballers will enter Saturday's match where they will host Hajduk at 16:00 in the 34th round of SuperSport HNL. Their Maksimir clash in the autumn part of the competition ended in a draw, 1:1, and the blues will certainly try to crown their brilliant season with a home victory in the derby, having already secured their 26th HNL championship title earlier.
– The mood in the team is good, especially after we secured the championship title and brought it back to Zagreb. The boys have been training well. We have some minor injury concerns, but it's fine... Scott McKenna trained on Thursday and Friday and will be in contention for the squad, but we'll still see how much we might use him. Everyone else is fine. We know that Sergi Dominguez will be absent due to four yellow cards. Young Marko Zebić? He's also competing for a place in the lineup. We are all looking forward to the match – emphasized coach Mario Kovačević.
Will this be a match with less pressure given that Dinamo has already secured the championship title?
– When you see that the fans will fill the stadium, then it's clear to you that there are no easy matches, especially against Hajduk. We are pleased, of course, that we have secured the title and that this match doesn't decide the standings, but we will go for victory from the first minute, that's the only thing that interests us. Besides, we haven't beaten Hajduk in Zagreb for a long time. From the first minute we will start as strongly and as well as possible to delight our fans.
Three league matches remain until the end of the season and the Cup final against Rijeka on May 13th in Osijek. Will this also be a kind of test for players who have played less in previous matches?
– Immediately after the derby comes the Cup final, of course that match means a lot to us as well. After that, those who have played less will get more opportunities. Every match is about proving yourself, especially for those who haven't had much playing time. Now our focus is on the derby against Hajduk, that's the team that was our only competitor in the fight for the title.
Is this derby also an opportunity for the players to stay in competitive rhythm before the Cup final?
– Of course that's very important to us as well. The boys are in good form, and we've had enough time to prepare to be ready against Rijeka too.
What kind of Hajduk do you expect on Saturday?
– I don't go into that too much, we look at ourselves mostly. We know they have quality, there are Marko Livaja, Ante Rebić, Michele Šego... You have to respect them. Livaja has been the league's top scorer in recent years, we know what kind of career Rebić has. They are quality, especially going forward. But we've beaten them twice this season. We're playing on our home ground, but we know we can't relax, we have to be at our 100 percent. Our style of play is such that from the first minute we want to press and seek victory as soon as possible. But we have to be careful, watch out for their best players – concluded coach Kovačević.
