U21. Vorskla vs Shakhtar: preview

Since the season start, Shakhtar have been confidently topping the U21 premiership, but in the last round they suffered a defeat. At present, the Orange-and-Blacks have 16 points, remaining the top scoring side in the league (the goal difference is 21-6).

In the upcoming meeting, the injured defenders Ilya Ichuaidze and Taras Kacharaba will not be able to help the team. At the same time, the season’s top scorer Mykyta Adamenko is back with the team. The charges of Valeriy Kryventsov still have no suspensions, with no players missing the game in Poltava due to suspensions.

Referee – Oleksandr Holovkov (Luhansk Oblast)
Assistants – Oleksandr Kholodynskyi (Kharkiv oblast), Oleksandr Dashko (Kyiv Oblast)
Fourth official – Denys Serdyuk (Poltava)
Referee observer – Serhiy Lysenchuk (Kyiv)

This season, Vorskla have not been quite consistent: the team’s winning streaks are followed by defeats, and after seven rounds they sit in the 6th spot in the table (with 10 points and the goal difference of 9-12). Last weekend, Poltava defeated Volyn (2-0) at home through the goals by Zarychniuk and Ostapenko. It was the first game since the beginning of the season, in which the charges of Oleksandr Omelchuk did not concede a goal.

Interestingly, Vorskla’s nine goals in the current league season were scored by eight different players, with Taras Sakiv boasting a brace. It should also be noted that the matches of Poltava U21 team frequently involve the experienced first-team performers (Oleh Barannik, Bohdan Shust, Oleh Holodyuk, Yevhen Zarichnyuk).

In the 2015/16 season, both encounters ended with victories in favour of the Pitmen. In the first half of the league season, the opponents met in Poltava. Before the break, the sides’ top scorers Avramenko and Boriachuk exchanged goals, with the decider scored by the same Boyriachuk only on 82 minutes and the final score set by Sukhanynskyi (1-3).

In the spring, Shakhtar entertained Vorskla in Shchaslyve, also snatching a win at the end of the match. Habelok grabbed a brace for the Donetsk side (with both goals scored from the penalty spot) and the visitors responded with a precision shot by Ichanskyi (2-1).

There are three Shakhtar players among the U21 league’s top scorers. Those are Mykyta Adamenko (6 goals), Andriy Boriachuk (5) and Giorgi Arabidze (4). This said, Adamenko continues his goal-scoring run: the midfielder has netted one in each of the six games he appeared in.