Markevych hails Boyko after Dnipro draw

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk coach Myron Markevych applauded goalkeeper Denys Boyko for keeping the Ukrainian club in their semi-final tie against Napoli on Thursday.

Boyko made six saves at Napoli’s Stadio San Paolo, including two one-on-one stops to deny Gonzalo Higuain in the second half, as Dnipro ended their trip to Italy with a 1-1 draw.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper kept Dnipro’s bid for a maiden European final well and truly alive, with Yevhen Seleznyov striking a late equaliser for the visitors.

“I would avoid the truth if I said that we have all failed. This is not so,” Markevych told Dnipro’s website after the match.

“And the hardest to come. Good that we did not give a goal to Higuain but the flanks failed. Both with [Jose] Callejon and [Dries] Mertens, who came off the bench.”

After David Lopez headed a corner past Boyko in the 50th minute of the first leg, Seleznyov struck with 10 minutes remaining, tapping Artem Fedetskiy’s right-wing cross into the net.

There was a suspicion of offside as Seleznyov got behind his marker at the back post, with Napoli’s defenders all raising their arms in protest, but Markevych argued he had yet to see a definitive angle.

“From above it can be seen better,” he said.

Markevych added that Dnipro will be more proactive at home next week, after finishing the away leg with just 37 per cent possession and less than half the number of passes as Napoli.

“Of course, Napoli outplayed us today. No need to be a great expert to see it,” the 64-year-old said.

“But in Kiev, we will play differently.”