Friendly win

It was the Miners’ second game in the last two days, therefore Roberto De Zerbi resorted to the squad rotation by fielding in the starting XI the players who got little or no match time on Sunday. We want to mention that from the first minutes, Anatolii Trubin and Heorhii Sudakov took the field after returning from their international duty with Ukraine.

Narrow lead

The start of the match saw some end-to-end action, witht the first chance being created by the Orange-and-Blacks, although Dentinho's attempt was saved by the opposing goalkeeper Vollath. The Donetsk goalkeeper also had to join in the action - Trubin rescued his side from a long-range shot. And a couple of minutes later, the crossbar came to the Miners’ rescue after being shattered by a Turkgucu footballer. Midway through the first half, Dentinho had a few more scoring chances: two attempts by the Brazilian hit the keeper, with the ball whizzing just inches wide in another episode. In general, the entire first half saw some clear advantage of Shakhtar, but the team managed to convert it only a couple of minutes away from break. Sudakov launched a counterattack and fed Manor Solomon who was later brought down in the penalty area. The earned penalty-kick was confidently converted by the Israeli himself after sending the keeper the wrong way and making it 1-0.

Win built on grit

After the break, Mykhailo Mudryk replaced the goalscorer on the field, with the Miners’ attacking focus temporarily shifting to the right flank where Yukhym Konoplya and Oleh Ocheretko actively interacted. That said, the Turkgucu players began to operate much tighter in the second half, aggressively putting pressure on the rivals and not allowing the Donetsk team to freely dispose of the ball. In the 61st minute, Roberto De Zerbi freshened up the team with substitutions by fielding Dodo, Marlon, Korniienko, Maycon, Tete, Pedrinho and Sikan. The game immediately got more dynamic, with dangerous situations appearing again at the same time. Pedrinho brought Sikan through on target (goalkeeper save), as well as Tete (the defender prevented the shot). Bondarenko tried a header (wide), and Korniienko bent the right-footed attempt towards the far corner (inches wide). The opponents’ goal was absolutely illogical against the backdrop of the Orange-and-Blacks' attacks. The former converted their only chance: in the 81st minute Sliskovic won an aerial challenge and equalized. However, the Miners were not going to give the victory away to the Germans, and already in the 85th minute, after an all-out move from their goal, Mykhailo Mudryk responded to Dodo's pass and flicked it home at the far post.

2-1 - Shakhtar beat Turkgucu in a tight friendly.

The Miners will play their final friendly game on Friday, July 9, against Schalke 04, Germany. The game kicks off at 19:00. The live stream will be available on Shakhtar TV and on Shakhtar Club.

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 (1-0) Turkgucu Munchen

Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer, Austria

Goals: 1-0 Solomon (43’ - pen), 1-1 Sliskovic (81’), 2-1 Mudryk (85’)

Shakhtar: Trubin, Konoplya (Dodo - 61’), Mampassi (Marlon - 61’), Bondarenko, Cipriano (Korniienko - 61’), Marcos, Tankovskyi (Maycon - 61’), Sudakov (Pedrinho - 61’), Ocheretko (Tete - 61’), Solomon (Mudryk - 46’), Dentinho (c) (Sikan - 61’)

Further information can be found in the match centre.