U21. Shakhtar 1-0 Olimpik

March 16, 2017. Schaslyve. Knyazha Arena. Att: 150. 6^oC.

Goal: 1-0 Ihnatenko (84)

Shakhtar: Hrytsenko, Kiryukhantsev, Bondar, Kacharaba, Kornienko, Hluschuk (Zinkevych, 82), Ihnatenko, Pikhalyonok (c), Yalovenko (Sahutkin, 33), Arabidze (Hlahola, 72), Arendaruk

Unused subs: Vertei, Hrachev, Korobenko, Masalov

Coach: Yevhen Kotov

Olimpik: Kotlyarov, Piskovoy, Petrik, Nadiradze, Kozlov (c), Yankov (Zinatullin, 56), Tkachenko, Sharai S., Hlynianyi (Tischuk, 75), Sharai V., Pudy

Unused subs: Stepanenko, Moroz, Gelovani, Masikevych

Head coach: Ihor Klymovskyi

Booked: Bondar (22), Petrik (30), Tkachenko (52), Sharai V. (54), Zinatullin (81), Kornienko (89)

Sent off: Bondar (29, second booking), Tkachenko (54, second booking)

Referee: Ihor Paskhal (Kherson)

The major match of the round has seen the meeting between the teams who already secured their places in the top part of the table, still continuing to compete for higher positions in the premiership: Shakhtar (2nd place, 46 points) are competing for the championship, and Olimpik (4th place, 38 points) have a chance of becoming one of the top three sides. We want to remind you that the meeting between the opponents in the first half of the season on Olimpik’s field ended in Shakhtar’s confident win (3: 0). That match, like today’s, was held on a synthetic pitch. The starting line-up of Shakhtar, compared to the previous game against Zorya, saw a few changes. Yuri Hluschuk returned to his habitual centre midfield position, replacing Oleksii Zinkevych, with the striker role being entrusted to Roman Yalovenko. Also, Giorgi Arabidze replaced Oleksandr Hlahola on the right wing offensively.

Already in the second minute the Orange-and-Blacks could have taken the lead, with Olimpik goalkeeper clearing the close-range shot by Danylo Ihnatenko and his teammate’s finish. The entire first half of the match was dominated by the Pitmen who were launching blistering attacks, with both wings being active and creating some good chances. However, midway through the first half, the hosts unexpectedly remained short-handed: Valeriy Bondar received two yellow cards within seven minutes and was sent off. The coaching staff changed the team play, fielding central defender Danylo Sahutkin instead of Yalovenko. At the same time, the striker role was taken by Hluschuk,with two holding players operating in midfield. But even with ten men, the Pitmen continued dominating possession and being more threatening than the opponents. Thus, Arabidze cut inside from the right and produced an attempt only to see the ball go just above the crossbar. Arendaruk played one-two with Hluschuk and bore down on target only to see the goalkeeper once again come to the vsitors’ rescue.

After the break, the game pattern did not change: Shakhtar continued charging forward, with Olimpik hoping to catch them on the counter. Early in the second half, Ihnatenko launched a blistering attack, with Arabidze sending it past the defenders to bring Arendaruk on goal, with the latter striking just inches from the far post. After the line-ups got even on 54 minutes (with Tkachenko earning two yellow cards within just a couple of minutes), the men of Valeriy Kryventsov starting to besiege the away goal. Arabidze struck a free kick around the wall only to see it saved by Kotlyarov. A long-range shot by Pikhalyonok followed – just wide. In the course of a counterattack, Hluschuk penetrated the penalty area, beat the goalkeeper, just crossing it instead of shooting home from a tight angle – the defenders stopped the ball on the goal line. Immediately followed a corner, with Taras Kacharaba trying to head it home, with Olimpik player clearing the ball again. Danylo Ihnatenko managed to break the failing streak. On 84 minutes, the midfielder decided to land a shot from some 23 metres and hit just the bottom corner – 1-0. The visitors rushed to save the situation, nearly succeeding in that in injury time: the set-piece shot stopped half a metre away from goal, never ending up in the back of the net. At the same time, the Orange-and-Blacks could have extended the lead, with their quick attacks lacking a finishing touch.

1-0 - Shakhtar U21 defeat Olimpik and prepare for the second stage of the league kicking off on March 31.

- We got off to a very powerful start, created three clear-cut chances and should have been winning 3-0 early in the game. Although we didn’t manage to score an early goal, the team did not stop. Even after sending off our defender Valeriy Bondar, who earned two yellow cards, we continued to control the course of the game, making the numerical advantage of the opponents hardly noticeable. Well, when at the beginning of the second half they sent off an Olimpik player, we again created enough scoring chances to win with a big score. Our poor finishing has let us down once again. It's good that this time we scored at least one goal and won. There is a two-week league break ahead. Many of our lads leave to join their national teams, maybe someone will get involved in the training sessions of Shakhtar’s first team. And with those remaining we will work in Schaslyve, play a friendly match and try to well prepare for the second stage of the season.