Oleksandriya 1-2 Shakhtar

Ukrainian Championship 2016/17. Round 14. 

November 6, 2016. Oleksandriya. Nika Stadium. Att: 2,786. 12 ^oC

Oleksandriya (Oleksandriya) 1-2 (0-2) Shakhtar (Donetsk)

Goals: 0-1 Dentinho (12), 0-2 Ferreyra (40), 1-2 Yaremchuk (46)

Oleksandriya: Levanidov, Mikitsey, Basov, Shendryk, Tsurykov, Zaporozhan (c), Ohyria, Kozak (Chornyi, 68), Ponomar, Hrytsuk (Polyarus, 46), Yaremchuk (Kulish, 85)

Unused subs: Novak, Matveev, Chebotayev, Starenkyi

Head coach: Volodymyr Sharan

Shakhtar: Pyatov, Srna (c), Kucher, Ordets, Ismaily, Malyshev, Fred (Stepanenko, 81), Marlos, Dentinho, Bernard (Boriachuk, 90+4), Ferreyra (Kovalenko, 76)

Unused subs: Shevchenko, Butko, Kryvtsov, Nem

Head coach: Paulo Fonseca

Booked: Tsurikov (27), Yaremchuk (31), Srna (45+1), Shendryk (62), Fred (70), Polyarus (78), Bernard (80), Ismaily (90+2)

Referee: Yuriy Vaks (Khmelnytskyi)

Before the match

The meeting with Oleksandriya was the sixth consecutive game in the last 18 days for Shakhtar. A week earlier, the Donetsk side had encountered them in the Ukrainian Cup Last 16 game, which Shakhtar won 2-1. Head coach of Shakhtar Paulo Fonseca has fielded the same line-up as he did in the previous Premier League round vs Chornomorets.

First half

Shakhtar players could open the scoring as early as in the 4th minute. Ismaily made an attempt on target from a tight angle, with the goalkeeper parrying the ball away towards Fred, but Shakhtar’s number eight did not have enough time to react to the rebound. Shortly afterwards, Facundo Ferreyra had a chance to excel. The Argentinian headed it goalwards following Darijo Srna’s immaculate high cross only to see his shot go just wide. On 12 minutes, the Orange-and-Blacks still converted their edge into a goal. Fred brought Bernard through, with the latter sending the ball right into Dentinho’s path. The number nine easily flicked it home. By the way, this is the Brazilian’s third goal in the away games vs the Citizens. Over the entire game, the hosts only once disturbed Andriy Pyatov. On 33 minutes, Vitaliy Ponomaryov and Roman Yaremchuk shot from close range, with the former attempt being denied by Darijo Srna, and the latter going just over the bar. Soon, the Pitmen fulfilled another stunning move. Marlos fed Ismaily, the defender crossed it along the goal line, with Facundo Ferreyra finding the back of the-then empty net. This Shakhtar forward scored in his fifth game in a row. Before the break, the numbers on the scoreboard did not change.

Second half

Early in the second half, the hosts took advantage of the Pitmen’s defensive error and pulled one back through the effort of Roman Yaremchuk. The goal gave confidence to Volodymyr Sharan’s team, and they started playing more dangerously near Shakhtar’s goal. However, closer to the middle of the second half, the developments again moved to Oleksandriya’s half of the pitch. Donetsk’s left wingers were active, with Bernard and Ismaily doing the most work. On 67 minutes, the latter produced another dangerous cross, with Oleksandriya’s defenders preventing him from scoring. Soon afterwards, Ivan Ordets might get himself on the scoresheet. The defender headed a Darijo Srna corner only to see his effort hit the goalpost. On 76 minutes, Viktor Kovalenko was fielded, who had missed the previous four games due to injury. The Ukrainian replaced Facundo Ferreyra, with Dentinho getting the lone striker role. A bit later, Paulo Fonseca fielded Taras Stepanenko, who took over Fred’s duty. The closing stages of the match passed at low pace, with the Pitmen controlling the game and securing a well-deserved victory.

Due to the upcoming international break, the Pitmen will play their next game in Kharkiv on 19 November. In the Premier League round 15, Shakhtar are locking horns with Karpaty. The game kicks off at 17:00 EET.