Sole leaders

In the starting lineup, Roman Zaiev made two changes in comparison with the previous game: at centre-back Mariia Kovb appeared instead of Anastasiia Illina, and in the midfield Svitlana Kohut took over the role of Olena Manziuk.

Effective throw-in

It was clear in the opening minutes that this is the meeting between the group leaders and that the match would be highly competitive: Shopina dangerously sent the ball over the crossbar from the edge of the box, and the Orange-and-Blacks responded with active pressure down the opposing half, alogn with a few set-pieces and a threatening attempt by Molodiuk towards the near corner. Then, twice during one attack, Yanchuk tested the Dnipro goalkeeper’s reflexes from a tight angle, with the latter’s performance being immaculate. Shakhtar's activity led to an early goal: in the 11th minute, after the ball went out of bounds on the left wing of Shakhtar’s half of the pitch, Molodiuk crossed it to Kozhukhar who broke away from the defenders and delivered the ball to the far post, where Yanchuk flicked it inside the near corner without facing any opposition to make it 1-0. Despite the visitors' attempts to equalise, by delivering long balls behind the backs of the defenders, the hosts had better control of the ball and more often threatened the goal. Midway through the first half, Kozhukhar went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, with the latter knocking the ball off at the last moment. Just before the break, the Dnipro-1 players launched an all-out attack, created several dangerous situations, not managing to score any goals though.

Yanchuk’s double

At half-time, Zaiev made one substitution: Illina came on for Starukhina, and four minutes after the resumption of the game, the hosts doubled their lead. Krevska sent the ball from the centre behind the backs of the defenders to feed Kozhukhar, Veronika beat the out-of-the-box goalkeeper and hit the back of the unguarded net, making it 2-0. The second goal conceded somewhat slowed down the activity of the Dnipro players who did not manage to carry out some quick counterattacks after the half-time break. The hosts continued bossing it and look for their lucky chance in the opposing penalty area. The third goal, just like the first one, was preceded by a throw-in down the left-hand side of the pitch. Kozhukhar crossed it to Yanchuk whose effort was blocked by defenders. With her second touch though, Polina skillfully lobbed it over the goalkeeper and sealed the win.

3-0 - Shakhtar won the sixth match in a row, while the team captain and goalkeeper Mariia Denyshchych secured another clean sheet. Shakhtar are topping the First League Group 2 table with 18 points. The next game is in Chernihiv on October 17 against the local team Yunist-ShVSM.

Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 (1-0) Dnipro-1

Goals: 1-0 Yanchuk (11’), 2-0 Kozhukhar (49’), 3-0 Yanchuk (66’)

Shakhtar: Denyshchych (c), Mokhnach (Olkhovska, 72’), Kovb, Krevska, Molodiuk, Veherych, Kohut (Kozub, 83’), Holovach (Yaneva, 85’), Yanchuk, Starukhina (Illina, 46’), Kozhukhar