Shakhtar Global Tour: Hajduk 3-3 Shakhtar

Shakhtar players appeared for the game with Ukrainian flags (there were a lot of them in the stands as well) and wearing the jerseys with lettering SAVE MARIUPOL and WE AZOVSTAL (We are Azovstal). The match itself began with a minute’s silence in memory of the war victims.

It should be noted that the game was attended by the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin who was present in the stands next to the FC Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin and the club legend and today's birthday boy Darijo Srna.

We want to mention the appearance on the pitch of Viktor Korniienko who was engaged in volunteer activities for two months and also participated in the territorial defence of Poltava region – he has joined the team just this week.

The start of the meeting turned out to be difficult for the Miners: Mykhailo Mudryk was injured in the opening stages, being replaced by Kyrylo Siheev, with the Hajduk players taking the lead shortly after that: Ljubicic received the ball in the centre of the box and fired it right inside the far post. It is worth noting that the Miners carried out a couple of dangerous attacks even before conceding that goal (Konoplia and Solomon had chances to score), continuing to actively charge forward. Matviienko had a good chance while picking up Korniienko’s header and sending it just above the crossbar. Viktor himself also made a long-range attempt only to see the ball hit the goalkeeper. Another cross by Shakhtar’s left lateral ended with Siheev's effort from the edge of the goal area just to end in another save by the host keeper. Shakhtar continued enjoying a significant playing advantage, but failed to score in the first half.

At half-time, Roberto De Zerbi made a number of substitutions by fielding Trubin, Kapinus, Bondar, Rakytskyi, Buleza and Boriachuk. And again, early in the second half, the hosts managed to take advantage of a mistake of Shakhtar defenders: in the 49th minute, the lonely Lazar in the centre of the penalty area drilled a volley into the back of the net and doubled the Croatian team’s lead. However, the Miners pulled one back rather quickly: in the 59th minute, Solomon broke through down the left flank and rolled it to the centre circle, while Dmytro Topalov made it 2-1 by hitting the roof of the net. Midway through the second half, Stepanenko had a great chance, but the goalie saved his attempt. Hajduk responded with Ljubicic's opportunity – he sent the ball just high. Meanwhile, Drambaev, Stasyuk, Myshnyov, Chekh, Kryskiv, and Shostak appeared for Shakhtar. In the 74th minute, the substitutes came up with the second goal for the team: Shostak received the ball at the edge of the penalty area, made it past his opponent and perfectly fed Petro Stasyuk at the far post to finish it off and make it 2-2. But the hosts managed to take the lead once again: in the 80th minute, Ljubicic scored one as a result of a counterattack. Immediately after that, Boriachuk and Chekh could score in response, but their efforts went just inches off the target. In the dying stages of the meeting, Khromei and Puzankov took the field, with the final score being set in stoppage time: Andrii Boriachuk applied a spectacular finish to Kryskiv’s pass to make it 3-3.

Shakhtar ended the Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace series of charity games with this game against Hajduk.

Hajduk Split 3-3 (1-0) Shakhtar Donetsk

Split, Poljud Stadium

Goals: 1-0 Ljubicic (10’), 2-0 Lazar (49’), 2-1 Topalov (59’), 2-2 Stasyuk (74’), 3-2 Ljubicic (80’), 3-3 Boriachuk (90+1’)