Donetsk "Shakhtar" began the 15th Ukrainian championship with an away victory in Lutsk, where they beat "Volyn" with a minimal score of 1:0. The winning goal in the 39th minute of the match was scored by Elano. For Lucescu's team, taking three points in the match against "Volyn" turned out to be not such an easy task.
Already in the 9th minute, Bielik should have put his team ahead, who after a precise pass from Vorobey ran one-on-one with Postranskyi, but managed to hit the goalkeeper from two meters. Having failed to use their chance to score, "Shakhtar" nearly conceded themselves. Moreover, from around the 15th minute and almost until the end of the first half, "Volyn" had the advantage in goal-scoring chances and at times even had the advantage in play.
The "Volyn" players were more charged up for the fight, and the emotional and loud shouts of their coach Kvartsyanyi, which could be heard even by TV viewers, spurred them on even more.
In the 14th minute, Sachko made the first shot toward "Shakhtar's" goal, but it went over the crossbar. A few minutes later, Krunich ran one-on-one with Lashtuvka, but the goalkeeper saved the Bosnian's shot. In the next episode, Krunich was in the spotlight again, but failed to stop the ball in the penalty area, and then collided with Duljaj in a play episode and lost the moment.
Closer to the middle of the first half, there was even an impression that it was not "Shakhtar" playing in the orange shirts, but some other team of a lower class than Kvartsyanyi's charges.... The hosts' counterattacks were fast, and the burly Sachko, Maksymyuk and Krunich broke through to shooting positions without much effort. In the 24th minute, Lashtuvka again saved Krunich's low shot, and the Czech goalkeeper turned Devich's follow-up shot under the crossbar into a corner.
In these moments of the game, little was working for "Shakhtar" in attack. Vorobey and Bielik simply could not get past the hosts' defense, and in the absence of Matuzalem, there was no one to give them goal passes. Once again, Lashtuvka saved his team after a header from Chebotar.
Toward the end of the first 45 minutes, "Shakhtar" burst into activity. First, Vorobey, having gone one-on-one with the goalkeeper, shot into his legs. However, in the very next attack, Elano made up for his teammate, who, having gone face-to-face with Postranskyi, dribbled past him and scored into an empty net to make it 1:0.
"Shakhtar" played the second half more confidently. In the 46th minute, Vorobey should have scored again, but Omoko's leg ended up in the path of the ball to the goal net.
"Volyn" did not slow down, but "Shakhtar's" defense no longer presented the hosts with such gifts as in the first half. Although, in the 64th minute, the referee could well have awarded a penalty against "Shakhtar" after Duljaj unceremoniously pulled the shirt of the ubiquitous Krunich in the penalty area. But the referee did not notice this episode. Or did he not want to?
Five minutes before the end of the match, Marica let his teammates down. The Romanian received a second yellow card in the center of the field out of nowhere and left "Shakhtar" a man down. "Volyn" lacked neither the strength nor the time to finish off the champions of Ukraine, and the Donetsk side openly played out the match in which they got three points in advance...
"Volyn" - "Shakhtar" - 0:1 Goal: Elano 39 "Volyn": Postranskyi, Omoko, Papa, Maksymyuk (Semyryak 69), Sharaba, Buta, Hashchyn (Tolkatskyi 79), Chebotar, Krunich, Devich (Donets 72), Sachko. "Shakhtar": Lashtuvka, Stoikan, Lewandowski, 2.Berkeuan, Rats, Tymoshchuk, Duljaj, Elano, Jadson, Bielik, Vorobey.