U19. Vorskla vs Shakhtar: match report

U19 Ukrainain League. Round 21.

May 18. Poltava. Ltava. 17 ^oC.

Vorskla U19 (Poltava) 1-1 (0-1) Shakhtar U19 (Donetsk)

Goals: 0-1 Bugai (28), 1-1 Cheked (55)

Vorskla: Vechnyi, Maksimenko (c), Cheked, Lutsenko, Ostapenko, Dudka (Velichenko, 69), Moroz, Sakiv (Zosenko, 63), Gerasimchuk (Ivanochko, 46), Melnik, Antoniuk (Yaremenko, 27; Dyadik, 84)

Unused subs: Shevchuk, Skiba

Head coach: Vadym Mandrievskyi

Shakhtar: Treshcheyko, Zaporoshchenko, Chahovets, Senytskii, Grachev, Ignatenko, Topalov (Hlahola, 46), Pikhalyonok (c), Bull (Tkachuk, 73), Zinkevych, Avagimyan

Unused subs: Romanov, Putrya, Khachayev, Shevchenko, Korokhov

Head coach: Serhiy Kovalyov
Coaches: Henadiy Orbu, Oleksandr Kupalnyi

Booked: Melnyk (10), Sakiv (30), Treshcheyko (80), Ignatenko (83), Dyadik (87)

Referee: Oleksand Afanasyev (Kharkiv)

Before the match

In Poltava, Shakhtar held the postponed match of the 21st round. Shakhtar had two changes in comparison with the previous meeting, there were two changes: from the opening minutes, the defender Andriy Zaporoshchenko and midfielder Oleksiy Zinkevych appeared on the pitch. At the league season start, Vorskla produced an unbeaten run of 14 matches, nicking points off every giant side, including the Pitmen (1-1). But in the spring, Poltava had alternate wins and defeats, eventually occupying the seventh spot in the standings.

Shakhtar got off to a brisk start, creating two great chances in the opening stages of the meeting. Getting on eld of a Zinkevych cross, Artur Avagimyan sent it wide from the goalline. Danil Ihnatenko was completing a solo slaloming run with a long-range shot, but it is also went wide. Even after slowing down a bit, Donetsk fully controlled the course of the game and virtually locked the hosts on their half of the pitch. Another failure happened at the goal of Poltava midway through the half and was fruitful. Avagimyan could not take advantage of two goal-scoring chances: first, he missed the target, and then he took a skilful attempt from about 12 metres, with the goal whizzing by the post. Oleksandr Pikhalyonok also had an attempt on goal, but also missed the target. The captain assisted immediately: he rip open Vrskla’s defence with his splitting pass to Vladyslav Bugai, with the forward pushing the ball into the back of the net 0-1. Donetsk continued to seek their fortune at the host side goal, but nearly suffered a Vorskla attack. Yaremenko headed it after a corner, but the shot went just wide of the goalpost.

Second half

At half time, Serhiy Kovalyov replaced Dmytro Topalov with Oleksandr Hlahola, who could score with nearly his first touch, but the keeper handled the shot of Shakhtar halfback. But Vorskla, who played more boldly ofensively, managed to equalise, with Vasyl Cheked getting himself on the scoresheet on 55 minutes. Shakhtar had to start sieging the host penalty area anew, but now Poltava defended in a much more organized way, enjoying not so many chances. Hlahola could have scored a beautiful goal, spinning the ball with the outside of his foot into the far top angle – just wide. Numerous attempts against the hosts did not bring any results, with the keper coping with long-range shots, not without problems though. A few minutes before the final whistle, Donetsk earned a promising free kick – Pikhalyonok shot hit the wall, with Ihnatenko powerful finish flying over the crossbar. In injury time, Orest Tkachuk could have made the Pitmen victorious, though he failed to send home the deflected ball. 1-1 – Shakhtar shares points with Poltava in Vorskla and loses the chance of claiming the U19 League title.

Shakhtar have two games left before the season end: on May 22, they will play Skala; and on May 29,they will receive Dnipro.

- In the first half,  our team fully controlled the game and dominated possession, well moving the ball from one flank to the other, taking many shots on goal and creating a great many dangerous chances. But the scored, unfortunately, only one goal. Perhaps this score has affected the players’ mentality and made them complacent. The young players just cannot understand that one-goal advantage is not a victory yet. It is necessary to score more goals and then quietly control the match. In the second half we conceded the unnecessary goal, with the team not being able to recover the focus. We had a few good opportunities to score, but in the final phase we didn’t quite succeed. Poor finishing is our main problem today. In the nearest two meetings, we might carry out rotation: we will replace the players who have played two games over a week. But until the last round, in every encounter, we will try to claim wins only.

Photo courtesy of FC Vorskla