U21. Shakhtar 4-0 Chornomorets

Championship U21. The 24th round.

April 8, 2017. Schaslyve. Knyazha Arena. Att: 250. +5^oC.

Shakhtar U21 (Donetsk) 4-0 (0-0) Chornomorets U21 (Odesa)

Goals: 1-0 Kacharaba (51), 2-0 Hlushchuk (60), 3-0 Ihnatenko (63, pen.), 4-0 Boriachuk (72) 

Shakhtar: Kudryk, Kiryukhantsev (Hrachov, 75), Kacharaba, Rakits'kyy, Kornienko, Tankovskyi, Ihnatenko, Pikhalyonok (c) (Zinkevych, 75), Boriachuk, Hlushchuk (Arabidze, 64), Arendaruk (Yalovenko, 86)

Unused subs: Grytsenko, Sahutkin, Topalov

Head coach: Valeriy Kryventsov

Chornomorets: Kozhuhar, Shchetinin, Veremeiev, Buriachenko, Hladchenko, Ihnatiev (Varenyk, 46) Kalitov, Popov (c) (Chernyshov, 73), Pereverza, Murashov (Mykhaylichenko, 61), Shtohrin (Studynikin, 55)

Unused subs: Lobodrov, Selezniov, Svirchuk

Head coach: Henadii Nyzhehorodov

Booked: Rakytskyi (36), Arabidze (80)

Referee: Vitalii Romanov (Dnipro)

Before the match

For the first time this spring, Shakhtar hosted the visiting team on the natural turf, which turned out to be perfectly prepared and withstood the test by continuous rain. Following a 3-1 victory over Zorya in the last round, the Pitmen (ranking second with 52 points) reduced the gap from the top team to five points. Valeriy Kryventsov’s side preserve a clean sheet in four matches in a row. Chornomorets rank sixth in the league (with 27 points), with the Odesa side started the season’s second stage with a home loss to Olimpik (1-2). The first team players Oleh Kudryk, Yaroslav Rakits'kyy, Viacheslav Tankovskyi and Andrii Boriachuk emerged in the starting line-up for getting game practice.

First half

The opponents quickly gave parts on the pitch: the Pitmen instantly brought the ball and game space under control from the starting minutes, as the visitors focused on holding back the Donetsk side's attacking moves and looking for opportunities in the counters. Inside the opening minutes, Tankovskyi fired from the distance to test the Odesa side’s goalkeeper, before Hlushchuk nearly connected with Kiryukhantsev’s cross following a rapid flank attacking move. The best opportunity of breaking the deadlock came Boriachuk’s way in the middle of the first half, as after winning a penalty, the forward stepped up to take a spot-kick, but blazed over the bar. This did not bother the hosts, who continued to create moments of danger. Tankovskyi’s shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by Chornomorets defender, before Arendaruk won the possession on the opponents’ half of the pitch to curl his left footed kick a little bit wide of the far post, with Hlushchuk landing a hammer blow from the distance, however, the goalie denied the danger to rescue the visitors shortly before the break.

Second half

The Orange-and-Blacks succeeded in carving open the opponent's defence early in the second half through a set piece. Pikhalionok played a corner from the right flank, before Taras Kacharaba sliced his header into the net to make it 1-0. The opener lent wings to Valeriy Kryventsov’s lads, who set the seal on a victory just ten minutes later. First, Yurii Hlushchuk performed a stun trick to tap in a cross at the far post, then, after forcing the opponents to break the rules in the penalty area, Danylo Ihnatenko stepped up to take a penalty he earned. 3-0. But even enjoying such a comfortable edge, the Pitmen did not slow down the pace and continued to press the opponents back at the other end by piling on pressure constantly near the Odesa side’s goal. The fourth goal was not long in coming. In the 72nd minute, the Donetsk side delivered a rapid counter-attack, before Denys Arendaruk drove forward in the left wing and curled a perfectly weighted pass to Andrii Boriachuk, who jumped out from behind the defenders’ backs to beat Kozhuhar easily and extend the lead to 4-0. The striker could have claimed a brace: after Arabidze played a high cross from the left, Boriachuk nodded his header from the goal box line to hit the bar, which saved the visiting team. Soon after that, Chornomorets ‘keeper turned a net buster from Rakits’kyy behind for a corner with difficulty, before no one appeared at the right place to tap Arabidze’s pass in. The Odesa-based side also tried to forge some threatening moments near Oleh Kudryk’s goal, but the Donetsk side defence operated coolly and safely, giving the opponents not a single chance. Shakhtar eliminate Chornomorets home 4-0 and continue their title race.

In the next round on April 14, the Pitmen will face Olimpik away.

Yurii Hlushchuk, Shakhtar U21 midfielder:

- We kicked off the match well, put pressure, increased the tempo, created the moments of danger, but failed to score in the first half. I had two or three clear-cut opportunities, with us failing to convert a spot-kick. Probably, we just had bad luck. However, confidence in the positive result had been with us all the way, and after scoring an opener, it helped immediately: our team headed forward, with the opponents being forced to do something, surge forward, since they would not be able to drop back in defence after all. I am happy that I managed to make my mark on the scoresheet and help the guys. I have not scored for a long time, and I really wanted to snap this streak. I hope the goals will come my way from now on. As for the reinforcement that we got from the first team, I want to note that everyone played with great fervour and motivation and did not only disrupted any aspect of our game, but, on the contrary, helped us to win back the ball and made a brilliant creative performance. Over the last two games, we improved in terms of converting our chances and added seven goals to our account, which is a crucial issue. We must progress and score even more! If we claim goals, we will secure wins.

Taras Kacharaba, Shakhtar U21 defender:

- We were well aware that the opponents would get on the back foot, meanwhile keeping in mind how tough was the first round game vs Chornomorets. At first, as long as they had enough stamina, the Odesa side produced a nice organized defensive performance. However, even before going into the break we could do the needful: we had a few sights of a goal and did not convert a penalty. It's good that we managed to break the deadlock at the very beginning of the second half. It made us loosen up, empowered us, so we started to improve in terms of our attacking performance. We notched the second goal, then sealed the third soon after that, and realized that we would not let the victory slip away. Another issue that we are happy with is that we operated well defensively, did not lose concentration until the last minutes. Today, I teamed up with Yaroslav Rakits’kyy, who helped in defence and cleverly initiated attacking moves. It is a pleasure to play together with such an experienced football player.