Shakhtar on international duty: Ukraine defeated Albania
Friday, June 3, 2016
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On June 3, Ukraine national team had another friendly match ahead of the EURO 2016. The charges of Mykhailo Fomenko beat the Albanians
Goals: 0-1 Stepanenko (8), 1-1 Sadiq (12), 1-2 Yarmolenko (49), 1-3 Konoplyanka (87)
Ukraine: Pyatov, Fedetskyi, Khacheridi, Rakits’kyy, Shevchuk (Butko, 46), Stepanenko (Tymoshchuk, 90), Sydorchuk (Rotan, 67), Garmash (Kovalenko, 46), Konoplyanka, Yarmolenko (Zinchenko, 77), Zozulya (Seleznyov, 63)
Right from the off, four Shakhtar players took to the pitch: goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov, defenders Yaroslav Rakits’kyy and Vyacheslav Shevchuk, as well as midfielder Taras Stepanenko. Just like in the match against Romania, Shevchuk played with the captain's armband on.
As early as on 8 minutes, the Ukrainians took the lead: Stepanenko was very fast on the ball following Konoplyanka’s cross and sent the ball into the near corner. The Albanians equalised pretty soon afterwards. Sadiku took advantage of a gap in the opposing side’s defensive third shot it past Pyatov – 1-1. Until the end of the first half, the sides had no more clearcut chances.
At half-time, Mykhailo Fomenko made two substitutions: Bohdan Butko replaced Shevchuk, and Viktor Kovalenko came on instead of Garmash. And on 49 minutes, Ukraine national team came in front again: Berisha parried away Zozulya’s atempt, with Yarmolenko being the first on the ball to finish it off – 1-2.
A bit later, Pyatov proved himself by parrying away a dangerous free kick by Kace. Rakits’kyy actively backed the attacking moves, but on one occasion he earned a yellow card for a sliding tackle in the opposing half. On 63 minutes, Yevhen Seleznyov spearheaded attack. In one of the episodes, Kovalenko tried to bring him one-on-one with an accurate pass, but the goalkeeper was first on the ball. However, both of them participated in the scoring attack on 87 minutes: Yevhen fought, Viktor crossed it, with Konoplyanka gathering it and sending home – 1-3.
As a result, the match ended in a win for Ukraine. Let us remind you that on June 12, the team of Mykhailo Fomenko kicks off the EURO 2016 with an encounter with Germany.
Photo courtesy of ffu.org.ua