U19. Arsenal-Kyiv 0-2 Shakhtar

U19 League. 20th round.

April 26, 2017. Schaslyve. Knyazha Arena. Att: 200. 21^oC.

Arsenal-Kyiv U19 (Kyiv) 0-2 (0-2) Shakhtar U19 (Donetsk)

Goals: 0-1 Kulakov (5), 0-2 Putrya (42)

Arsenal-Kyiv: Pospelov, Zaliznyak (Zaika, 60), Semenikhin, Romanenko, Nehrya, Yakovets (c) (Haiduk, 67), Rusyan (Koval, 53), Vakulenko (Bondar, 44), Shkarupa (Kachanovskyi, 46 ), Stryzhak, Rudych

Unused subs: Strokous, Viner

Senior coach: Yurii Len

Shakhtar: Kucherenko, Konoplya, Chahovets, Mate, Zaporoschenko, Yakimets (Apanchuk, 75), Putrya (c) (Mudryk, 82), Chekh, Kulakov (Andrushchenko, 63), Khachaev (Kryskiv, 79), Kuzmenko (Mohylnyi , 87)

Unused subs: Vertei, Pavlish

Head coach: Serhii Shyschenko

Booked: Semenikhin (8), Mate (90+4)

Referee: Pavlo Detsyuk (Chernihiv)

Before the match

Serhii Shyshchenko made three changes in the starting line-up. The place of Vladyslav Vertei between the sticks was taken by Yevhen Kucherenko, with Yurii Mate being replaced by the central defender Valerii Bondar who returned to the U21 team. Vladyslav Kuzmenko who missed the last game due to having a cold, was fielded in the opening minutes  at the position of Oleksii Kaschuk, who have gone to the Ukraine U17 camp together with Artem Kholod in order to prepare for the European Championship finals.

First half

The Pitmen’s starting activity resulted in several promising situations. In each of them, Andrii Kulakov spearheaded attacks. In the third minute, the Shakhtar forward pushed the ball past the goalkeeper, but the teammates were backed by the host defender. Shortly after that, Yurii Mate produced a dangerous shot, with Kyiv goalkeeper hardly making a save and with Kulakov firing it home. 

Nevertheless, Andrii still did it. He again found himself within shooting range was accurate this time, sending the ball right into the corner. That’s the fourth goal for the Shakhtar striker in the four spring games. Over time, the game calmed down a bit. The footballers of Arsenal-Kyiv made attempts to pull one back, but the Orange-and-Blacks controlled the course of the meeting and continued to dominate territorial advantage. Shakhtar had another chance to excel in the 36th minute. Volodymyr Yakimets - after playing one-two with Murad Khachayev – found himself one on one with the goalkeeper and was brought down, but the referee did not confirm the rule violation. Soon, the ref had another reason to point to the spot after Andrii Kulakov was brought down onto the pitch turf with no whistle following. And yet in the 42nd minute, the Pitmen made the score bigger. Volodymyr Yakimets found Putrya with an excellent through ball, and Illia beat the keeper after his second attempt.

Second half

After the break, Vladyslav Kuzmenko could have put himself on the scoresheet. He had already pushed the ball past the goalkeeper, but a defender managed to rescue his team. Later, the game was taking place only within one half of the field, but the tight host defence left no open spaces, which immediately affected the number of dangerous chances near the goal of Arsenal-Kyiv. Shakhtar continued to increase the possession percentage, still failing to overcome the defensive ‘redoubts’. Positional attacks through midfield and wings led to nothing. As a result, the referee’s final whistle marked Shakhtar’s 2-0 win.

The Pitmen are to play their next match on April 30. Within the 22nd round, the Orange-and-Blacks will be entertaining Chornomorets.

Serhii Shyshchenko, head coach of Shakhtar U19:

- The encounter can be divided into two different halves. In the first one we actively charged forward, produced aggressive attacks, created chances, making ourselves complacent for some reason in the second one. The play was slow, with us failing to play offensively and the opponents changing their defensive formation. Also, the guys must have been focused on the match against Chornomorets in three days, so they acted in a psychologically calm manner, cherishing the advantage obtained before the break. As for the early goal, basically we planned to actively perform in the opening 10-15 minutes, pressing high up field and trying to score early. In general, we fulfilled it. Now we are facing the meeting with Chornomorets. It is vital, because, most likely, the second spot holders will be decided in it. We’ve been preparing for the match against Odesa thoroughly. I think that a very good and interesting match awaits everyone on Sunday.