U21. Stal 1-6 Shakhtar

Before the match

Shakhtar began the season with two wins, currently leading the standings. In the first round, Valeriy Kryventsov's boys beat Vorskla (3-1) away, also beating their major competitors Dynamo Kyiv through a goal by Danylo Ihnatenko (1-0) last Saturday. Stal lost to Zorya (1-6), tied with Chornomorets (2-2), currently occupying the last but one position.

The starting line-up of the Orange-and-Blacks in comparison with the previous meeting has not changed. Again, the first-team players got some practice in the U21 team: goalkeeper Oleh Kudryk, midfielders Viacheslav Tankovskyi and Oleksandr Zubkov.

First half

Shakhtar immediately gained the unconditional advantage and constantly threatened the hosts’ goal, still being unable to score for some time. An attack involving three players, Zubkov and Hluschuk, was finished off by Ihnatenko – just wide. A series of crosses from both wings did not find any Miners in the penalty area. Hluschuk tried his luck with a long-range shot – just wide again. But it was the Donetsk centre-forward who, at the end of thirty minutes, opened the scoring and initiated the demolition of Stal. Zubkov softly sent the ball into the penalty area, and YuriiHlushchuk beat the goalkeeper from tight angle – 0-1. Six minutes later, Valeriy Kryventsov's team made a powerful effort, finding the back of the net three times. Oleksandr Zubkov took advantage of the long ball to burst into the penalty area and diagonally struck the corner. Immediately after that, the visitors earned a free kick on the left flank and played it in a special way: Topalov sent a low ball towards the penalty spot, and Oleksandr Masalov beat the goalkeeper – 0-3. And five minutes before the break, Yurii Hluschuk grabbed a brace: the forward in the right-hand corner of the goal area received a diagonal pass from Masalov, covered the ball with his body and beat Ryabenko again – 0-4.