U19. Volyn 1-4 Shakhtar

Goals: 0-1 Khachaiev (36), 0-2 Kulakov (39), 0-3 Khachaiev (83), 0-4 Topalov (85), 1-4 Bilich (86)

Volyn: Franchuk, Zinkevych, Morozovych (Ziulkov, 61), Shandruk, Babiak, Deda (Senik, 81), Druchok (Melnychuk, 68), Liashenko (c) Mosiiuk (Bilich, 52), Hladun (Mikolaichuk, 88), Dmytrenko

Unused subs: Hlushko, Popik

Head coach: Volodymyr Hapon

Shakhtar: Pospelov, Konoplia (Sobolevskyi, 46), Hudz, Mate, Korniienko, Yakimets, Andrushchenko (Kuzmenko, 54), Putria (Bondar, 72), Kulakov (Tkachuk, 69), Topalov (c), Prodanov (Khachaiev, 25)

Unused subs: Kucherenko, Chahovets

Head coach: Serhiy Popov

Booked: Konoplia (34), Sobolevskyi (71), Tkachuk (73), Mate (90)

Referee: Andrii Kholiavko (Lviv)

Shakhtar started the league with a win and a loss, and the match of the third round against Zorya was postponed. In their three matches Volyn suffered two shutout losses and then beat Zirka in a home game (7-0).

The Pitmen came to Lutsk without two important players - Ivan Semenikhin and Oleksii Kashchuk. The former has a slight injury and the latter is currently with the U19 national team. On the day of the game the Orange-and-Blacks' goalkeeper Yevhen Kucherenko turned 17 years old, and on the eve of the game defender Yefym Konoplia, who debuted in the starting line-up against Volyn, celebrated his birthday.

Shakhtar imposed their game on the opponents from the starting minutes, and almost never left the latter's half of the field. In the opening Serhiy Popov's squad created several threatening opportunities: Kulakov passed to Prodanov, who shot wide, and a few minutes later Kulakov, being in a favourable position, failed to hit the ball properly. The Donetsk team's Andrushchenko and Topalov created dangerous plays, and left-back Korniienko diversified the attacks by unexpectedly joining them. In the middle of the half Murad Khachaiev was fielded and almost scored with his first touch, but his attempt was saved by the home team's keeper. And on 36 minutes, Viktor Korniienko threw the ball straight in the penalty box to Khachaiev, who took care of the 3 players guarding him and thrashed the ball into the upper corner - 0-1. Three minutes later, the Pitmen extended the lead. Andrushchenko passed into penalty area to Khachaiev whose shot was parried by the keeper, but Andrii Kulakov was first on the ball and hit it into the net - 0-2.

After the half-time, the Lutsk team tried to even out the game, but Shakhtar continued to play the first fiddle mounting various threatening attacks. A free kick was made by Viktor Korniienko, who curved the ball with his left foot into the near corner but hit the bar. Illia Putria was also unlucky: his attempt from just outside the penalty box hit the crossbar, deflected on the goal line, and bounced back into the field. Serhiy Popov kept the game intense by using substitutions, fielding Sobolev, Kuzmenko, Tkachuk and Bondar. Owing to this the away team looked fresher in the end of the game and scored twice more. In the 83rd minute, Topalov passed to Khachaiev and Murad made a brace with a shot to the far corner. After that Dmytro Topalov received a cross, ran out one-on-one with the goalkeeper and easily beat him. The only thing that Volyn managed to do was to score a consolation - Dmytro Bilich distinguished himself.

The final score is 1-4. Shakhtar U19 beat Volyn in an away game and will prepare for the next match. On September 3, Serhiy Popov's team will take on Zirka Kropyvnytskyi in Shchaslyve.

– From the very beginning we had a huge advantage. In the first five minutes we could have scored two or three goals, but did not use our chances. The opponents began conducting counterattacks, and the game went on a collision course with the high level of energy consumption, and substantial psychological strain. It's a good thing that we scored two goals before the half-time - this allowed us to act more calmly in the second half. We planned for early goals in the second half, too, however, we lacked conversion. Only in the dying minutes of the match we implemented our domination and made the score big. In general, I think that today we looked a lot stronger than Volyn and deserved this confident win.

– In the first half, you made a substitution fielding Murad Khachaiev, who scored two goals and was involved in yet another goal. Can you say that he was your ace in the hole?
– Yes, Murad' goal was very important for the team, it reassured the guys. Yes, Khachaiev himself joined the game well, and stabilised the team play. His fielding helped us win.

– In the next match Shakhtar will take on Zirka, which recently lost to Volyn with a score of 0-7. Does this mean that the Pitmen are expecting another easy win?
– Not at all. At this age, the teams can show completely opposite results: fail one game and then give a good fight in the next round. It was one of the first matches for Zirka. Now they have better teamwork, they have learned from their mistakes and are better prepared. We'll be able to see their current level only when we play them.