Moraes is back!

The Miners rounded off the season’s first part with this match. Roberto De Zerbi fielded in the starting lineup Ismaily at left-back, Stepanenko and Maycon in midfield, Mudryk and Tete as wingers, with Pedrinho appearing this time just behind the central striker Fernando.

Goalless start

The teams exchanged scoring chances early in the game: first, the teammates brought Maycon through on target only to see Melnyk backing the visiting goalkeeper by stopping the ball with his foot. In response, Rybalka struck powerfully from outside the penalty area just to see the ball go high. The attempts by Mudryk and Fernando ended up right in the hands of Bilyk, and Trubin had to come into play after another long-range effort by Tsurikov. The teams finished the first half amid this kind of hard-fought but goalless competition.

Junior's appearance and a comeback win

The beginning of the second half turned out to be somewhat nervous, which resulted in yellow cards being awarded to Babohlo, Ismaily and Rybalka, but gradually the teams resumed playing football and staged a real drama. It all started in the 63rd minute, when Kozhushko headed the ball home and brought the Oleksandriia outfit forward. The Miners’ response followed immediately: Matviienko and Fernando delivered the ball to Manor Solomon who planted a real stunner inside the top corner, making it 1-1. Fernando himself could have put his name on the scoresheet right after that, but he just hit the goalkeeper from close range. And in the 75th minute, a long-awaited event happened: after the break of more than six months, Junior Moraes appeared on the pitch. And only two minutes were enough for the striker to score: Pedrinho delivered the ball into the penalty area, Tsurikov missed it, and Moraes outplayed the goalkeeper – 1-2! The hosts tried to equalise, but the Miners played expertly during the dying minutes and secured a win.

2-1 – Shakhtar beat Oleksandriia in the last match of the year.

Oleksandriia 1-2 (0-0) Shakhtar Donetsk

Oleksandriia, CSC Nika, att: 1,366

Goals: 1-0 Kozhushko (63’), 1-1 Solomon (70’), 1-2 Moraes (78’)

Shakhtar: Trubin, Dodo, Marlon, Matviienko, Ismaily, Stepanenko (c), Maycon (Marcos 65’), Tete (Solomon 65’), Pedrinho (Konoplia 88’), Mudryk (Bondarenko 88’) Fernando (Moraes 75’)