U19. Zirka 1-3 Shakhtar

April 1, 2017. Dolinskaya. Kolos stadium. Att: 150. 11^oC.

Goals: 0-1 Chagovets (8), 0-2 Kulakov (45), 0-3 Kashchuk (50), 1-3 Lev (84)

Zirka: Medvedev, Kutsev (c) (Lopushenko, 78), Machelyuk, Pavlyuk, Khodorchenko, Dnistrianskyi (Kasimov, 52), Hrulenko (Krutin, 26), Klochan, Bilous (Koltsun, 27), Zamurenko (Bozdaganian, 71 ), Lev

Unused subs: Stepantsov, Pradunets

Head coach: Ruslan Bidnenko

Shakhtar: Vertei, Konoplya, Chagovets, Mate, Zaporoshchenko, Yakymets (Apanchuk, 80), Kashchuk (Putria, 70), Chekh (Melichenko, 75), Kulakov (Andrushchenko, 61), Khachaev (c) (Kryskiv, 60 ), Kuzmenko

Unused subs: Rumyantsev, Pavlish

Head coach: Serhii Shyschenko

Booked: Pavlyuk (3), Dnistryanskyi (35), Kuzmenko (87)

Sent off: Khodorchenko (79)

Referee: Dmytro Osaulenko (Kyiv)

The Pitmen kicked off the spring part of the premiership with a clash against the league bottom team Zirka. The Orange-and-Blacks rank fifth in the standings with 28 points. The opponents have 8 points to their account, with the Kropyvnytskyi side earning two wins and one draw across the last three round. In the first round, the Donetsk team defeated Zirka 2-0. This match registered Serhii Shyschenko’s debut match in the capacity of Shakhtar U19 head coach. Compared to the season’s first stage, the Pitmen’s line-up underwent some changes. Valerii Bondar, Viktor Kornienko and the skipper Dmytro Topalov have been promoted. They were replaced by defenders Eugene Chagovets and Andrii Zaporoshchenko, with Murat Khachayev taking over the captain's armband and the position of supporting attacker.

Shakhtar domination was convernted into goals in the early stages of the match. Following a multi-step attacking move, Eugene Chagovets appeared at the right time in the right place to steer the well-placed ball past a goalkeeper from the goal line. The Orange-and-Blacks continued to outplay the opponents in all game aspects and forged a couple of clear-cut chances. The left wing of the Donetsk side produced an active performance, as Vladyslav Kuzmenko outclassed his markers time and again. In the 16th minute, Yuriy Mate created two moments of danger with his headers. Soon after that, Oleksii Kashchuk emerged twice in the limelight. At first, he lacked few centimetres to overtake the goalkeeper, before he finished the following teammates’ combo only to see his ball hitting the post. Andrii Kulakov could have scored, but the first attempt in this match turned out to be unsuccessful. However, one minute before the break, Shakhtar striker realized the pass from Yefym Konoplia with his header.

Immediately after the break, the visitors earned the third goal. Murat Khachayev put Kashchuk on goal, and Oleksii beat Zirka goalkeeper without any problems. The captain could score himself, but he hit the post. The game scenario did not change: Shakhtar enjoyed an overwhelming control of the game, spending most of the time on the opponent's half of the pitch. On 62 minutes, a good opportunity came the substitute Dmytro Kryskiv’s way. He was the first to get onto the rebound, but missed the target. Kryskiv could do the needful after the corner, but luck was on the hosts’ side again. Serhii Shyshchenko’s men had a number of good scoring opportunities, but they failed to disappoint Zirka goalkeeper on more time. At the same time, one of the opponents’ rare counterattacks ended with Artem Lev's finishing effort. The final whistle of the referee recorded a deserved 3-1 victory in favour of the Donetsk team.

The Pitmen are to hold their following meeting on April 8 in Schaslyve. In the 19th round, the Orange-and-Blacks will receive Poltava-based Vorskla.

- In principle, I am pleased with my guys’ performance. The only thing is that it was hard to adapt to the turf technically. Due to the pitch quality, we failed to produce the football we want to see. We did not succeed in the closing 20 minutes of the match after making substitutions, as the game discipline was broken. However, we have created a lot of goal-scoring chances today. Right, we are not happy with the fact that we do not score. However, on the other hand, it is encouraging that such chances come our way. I am confident that in the course of time, we will find skill and, I hope, in the next matches we will convert our chances into goals. It's nice that we manage to implement set pieces and moves we are practicing at the training sessions. The first goal we scored is one of our achievements. True, the performance was far from perfect, but it brought the result. In general, if we talk about the match, I'm pleased with both the result and guys’ attitude to their job.