We won in Kyiv

Head coach of the Miners Marino Pusic fielded the following starting line-up for the game: Riznyk played in the goal, Vinicius Tobias and Pedro Henrique played as laterals, Bondar and Ghram came on in the centre of defence, Marlon Gomes, Bondarenko and Sudakov played in the middle of the field, Kevin and Alisson were the wingers, and Eguinaldo was the centre forward.

Game dominance and Eguinaldo’s goal

There was no question about the advantage of the Orange-and-Blacks from the very beginning of the match, and it is quite natural that the main events in the first half took place near the goal of Obolon. Sudakov could have scored already in the opening stages, but the crossbar saved the host team. Shortly after that, Eguinaldo had a chance and shot over the crossbar after Kevin’s pass. However, in the 22nd minute, it was the Brazilian forward who opened the scoring: after a corner kick on the left wing, Bondarenko put a great cross into the centre of the penalty area, Eguinaldo jumped higher than everyone else and headed the ball into the right top corner – 0-1. After that, the Kyiv-based team had their only chance before the break, but Ustymenko headed wide. The teams spent the rest of the time in a positional struggle in the centre of the field without much intensity up front.

Moments on both sides and Hlushchenko’s debut goal

The second half started with counterattacks. Alisson moved from the right flank and shot centimetres away from the post, while Ustimenko almost missed the target from the goal-area line. Shortly after that, Shakhtar’s Brazilian newcomer was replaced by his compatriot Pedrinho, who returned to the game after an injury, and the Pitmen continued to move forward. Kevin and Bondarenko played a short combination move, which Sudakov completed with a long-range shot – near the post. Marlon Gomes made a throw-in from deep, Kevin beat the goalkeeper of the Kyiv-based team and sent the ball into what seemed to be an empty net, but Marchenko managed to turn around and clear it away for a corner. Kevin and Pedro Henrique had good chances – both times the Brewers were saved by their goalkeeper. The host team responded with chances from Hrusha and Taranukha – the former missed the target, the latter’s attempts were blocked. In the 77th minute, the coaching staff of the Orange-and-Blacks refreshed the midfield, releasing Nazaryna and Hlushchenko – the substitutions paid off again. In the 89th minute, Kevin on the wing beat two opponents and shot from the goal-line into the centre of the penalty area, where Anton Hlushchenko pushed the ball into the net on the second attempt and scored his debut goal in the first team. Pryimak could have reduced the gap for the Kyiv-based team, but hit the crossbar.

2-0 – Shakhtar defeated Obolon and are preparing for the Cup battles.

Marino Pusic’s team will play their next match in the Ukrainian Cup quarter-final on Wednesday, April 2. The away game against Oleksandriia will take place at the Nika stadium and will kick off at 14:00.

Obolon Kyiv 0-2 (0-1) Shakhtar Donetsk

Kyiv, Obolon-Arena, 3,100 spectators

Goals: 0-1 Eguinaldo (22′), 0-2 Hlushchenko (89′)

Shakhtar: Riznyk, Vinicius Tobias, Bondar, Ghram, Pedro Henrique, Bondarenko (Nazaryna, 77′), Marlon Gomes (c), Sudakov (Hlushchenko, 77′), Alisson (Pedrinho, 61′), Kevin, Eguinaldo