Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella was proud of his team’s perseverance as they held Dynamo Kiev to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie at the NSC Olimpiyskiy.
Jeremain Lens’ first half deflected strike was cancelled out by substitute Khouma Babacar’s injury time overhead kick to give the Viola a precious away goal ahead of the second leg in Florence in a week’s time.
“I am so proud of the performance of my team,” Montella told Firenzeviola.it.
“It’s a special night for us. We could have accepted the defeat because that can happen in football.
“Instead, the team have shown they have the heart to play for Fiorentina and believe in what we are trying to do.
“We created so much, and played brilliantly until we entered the final third where we lacked a cutting edge.
“We have to improve in this respect as we were angry at the break so we were delighted when we finally got what we deserved.”
This was the fourth match in a row where Mario Gomez has failed to find the back of the net, but his coach had words of encouragement to the former Bayern Munich striker.
“Mario [Gomez] must have more confidence in himself,” said Montella.
“He worked so hard for the team and I’m happy with his performance. I hope that he continues to play his part.”
