Shakhtar vs Metalist 1925: match report

There were changes in the starting line-up of the Orange-and-Blacks compared to the previous match: Ustinova appeared between the sticks from the off, Yanieva played in the midfield, with Vykaliuk acting as a right winger.

Defensive play and Ustinova’s saves

Metalist 1925 had the territorial advantage from the opening minutes, acted more ambitious and advanced the ball to the final third of the field from the flanks. Already in the 6th minute, the Kharkiv-side could have scored: Pantsulaia run down the right flank and made a delivery to the penalty area, Khavanska got the ball after it was cleared off and hit the crossbar from a long distance. During another ten minutes, the Miners moved away from their own goal and orchestrated a positional attack with Zavidova's finishing – high. The Kharkiv team created an opportunity after the right corner in response when Basanska delivered the ball to the near post to Kozhuhar whose attempt was blocked by Ustinova. The guests continued to play fluidly on the Pitmen’s half of the field and managed to open the score before halftime: Basanska delivered the ball from the left flank to the goal area, where Aleksanian got ahead of the opponents and headed it into the far corner. Subsequently, the match was suspended for 30 minutes due to air raid alert in Kyiv Oblast. After the resumption of the game, Metalist 1925 controlled the ball, but it did not come to real danger near Ustinova’s goal.

Half in a mutual struggle

In the second half, the course of events on the field did not change. Shakhtar built the game from the defence and hoped for quick counter-attacks, while Metalist 1925 played offensively and created chances after the attempts from Kochnieva (turned it for a corner) and Basanska (post). Later, the Miners began to gradually seize the initiative, trying to equalize, but the opponents, defending reliably, did not allow the Orange-and-Blacks to score. In the 75th minute, Shakhtar's coaching staff made a single substitution and Chendei entered the field instead of Zavidova, with the team somewhat reorganizing and switching to a formation with three defenders. The Miners tried to quickly orchestrate the counter-attack, using deliveries, but the Kharkiv side quickly covered the free zones and blocked the attempts. The opponents took turns controlling the ball, being mainly in the central half of the field and did not create a threat near each other's goal until the final whistle.

0-1 – Shakhtar women’s team narrowly lost to Metalist 1925.

Shakhtar will meet with Kryvbas away in the final round of the championship on May 25.

Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 (0-1) Metalist 1925 Kharkiv

Goal: 0-1 Aleksanian (39′)

Shakhtar: Ustinova, Kravchuk, Krevska, Yanieva, Starukhina, Zavidova (Chendei, 75′), Henyk, Molodiuk (c), Zaborovets, Mostova, Vykaliuk