U21. Chornomorets 1-2 Shakhtar

Chornomorets U21 (Odesa) 1-2 (0-1) Shakhtar U21 (Donetsk)

Goals: 0-1 Arabidze (28) 0-2 Adamenko (63), 1-2 Shchetinin (80)

Chornomorets: Lobodrov, Shchetinin, Otroshko, Hadrani, Norenkov (Mykhailychenko, 76) Khameliuk (c) (Zakharchenko, 90), Medved, Popov, Tsokan, Musolitin (Varenyk, 46), Chernyshov (Silvio, 46)

Unused subs: Tiurin, Ostanin, Kliuchyk

Head сoach: Hennadii Nizhehorodov

Shakhtar: Hrytsenko, Kiryukhantsev, Sahutkin (Kacharaba, 73) Bezuhlyi, Mihunov, Korobenko, Hlushchuk, Pikhalyonok (c) Yalovenko (Hlahola, 78), Arabidze (Zinkevych, 78), Adamenko

Unused subs: Yefanov, Hrachev, Ihnatenko, Senytskyi

Head coach: Valeriy Kryventsov

Coaches: Yevhen Kotov, Dmytro Shutkov, Volodymyr Rashevskyi

Referee: Serhii Berezka (Kyiv Oblast)

Booked: Yalovenko (43), Korobenko (50)

Before the match

Compared with the previous game, Valeriy Kryventsov made a number of changes in the Pitmen’s starting XI. Thus, Danylo Sahutkin played as a centre-back from the start, with Andrii Korobenko in the holding area, Giorgi Arabidze as a right flank midfielder, and striker Roman Yalovenko making his debut for Shakhtar. Artur Avahimian and Denys Arendaruk could not help their team due to cold.

The opponents started the match at a rather slow pace, which is easily explained by the hot weather. Nonetheless, Shakhtar looked better on the field. In the starting minutes Yalovenko curled the ball aiming for the far corner, but the shot went wide. Later the players missed an opportunity to complete a cross from Mihunov. The referee stopped the game in the middle of the half, giving the players an opportunity to hydrate by drinking water, and right after this break the Pitmen took the lead. Oleksandr Pikhalyonok’s high pass from Shakhtar’s half led to Giorgi Arabidze’s one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and the former shot the ball into the net – 0-1. Ten minutes later, Mykyta Adamenko almost repeated the feat, but this time Chornomorets goalkeeper was first on the ball.

Second half

Right after half-time the Donetsk team scored another goal but the referee ruled it offside. At the opposite side, Yevhen Hrytsenko demonstrated confident game. First, Shakhtar goalkeeper won two consecutive one-on-ones, and then parried a dangerous shot by Popov. After repelling a series of attacks by the Odesa team, the Pitmen strengthened the lead: Mykyta Adamenko went along the left flank, entered the penalty area and shot the ball into the far corner – 0-2. Valeriy Kryventsov’s outfit continued with dangerous counters, but it was the opponents who scored. Ten minutes before the end of the match, Shchetinin curled the ball into right under the crossbar – 1-2. Right after that Silvio hit the post with a long-range shot, and in response Adamenko, being in a great position, shot just a bit wide. The closing minutes had been very tense, but neither desperate attacks of the home team nor the counterattacks by the Orange-and-black changed the final score.

2-1 - Shakhtar beat Chornomorets in an away game. The Pitmen will play the next round on August 6, when they will receive Oleksandriya in Shchaslyve.

Yevhen Hrytsenko, Shakhtar U21 goalkeeper:

- In the first half, everything went as planned, we completely controlled the game. We were able to score and go to half-time being in the lead. In the second half, the opponents started to put on some pressure. At this time I managed several saves. I wanted to convey my confidence to the team. It’s a good thing that we managed to get it together in time and save the win.

- Today, we had two different halves. During the first one, our players maintained discipline, employed quick passes, had plenty of combinations and deservedly took the lead. The second half turned out to be difficult. Chornomorets regrouped a little, fielded a second striker, and started pressuring us on our half of the pitch. We could not quite manage going from defence to attack, and we were losing rebounds. This resulted in a very nervous game, where the Odesa team could even score an equalizer. We needed to avoid such a tense ending, and it was necessary to realize the opportunities we had during the first half. We will conduct a serious analysis of the match, take a detailed look at all elements and correct the mistakes which are not permissible for footballers of such a team as Shakhtar.

Photo courtesy of FC Chornomorets