"Debrecen" (Hungary) – "Shakhtar" (Donetsk) – 0:2 Goals: Brandao 20, Tolga 24. First match: 1:4 "Debrecen": Csernyánszki, Máté, Virág, Mészáros (Modo 54), Dzsudzsák (Sotmári 54), Bernáth, Nikolov (Jeremiás 69), Sidibe, Holmosi, Kiss, Eger "Shakhtar": Laštůvka, Srna, Raț, Tymoshchuk, Matuzalem, Elano, Brandão, Marica (Agahowa 60), Tolga, Lewandowski (Hübschman 46), Duljaj (Fernandinho 69).
"Shakhtar" handled its visit to Debrecen excellently. Having scored two goals in the first half, Lucescu's charges confidently advanced to the group tournament of the UEFA Cup and brought important points to the UEFA coefficient rating for Ukraine. In the second minute of the game against "Debrecen", Marica nearly scored, but his shot from under two defenders was saved by the goalkeeper who was in place.
Brandão also had a missed chance in this duel, as in the 12th minute he went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and managed to shoot past the goal from a few meters. However, the next chance created by the Brazilian tandem of the miners made up for the Shakhtar forward's miss. Brandão passed to Elano in the penalty area, who back-heeled it back, and the Brazilian with a shot into the corner of the goal puts "Shakhtar" ahead.
Four minutes later the second goal flew into the Hungarians' net. Elano curled the ball from a corner, which Tolga flicked with his heel in a ballet jump – 2:0.
In the 27th minute Elano could have scored himself, but he ran one-on-one with the goalkeeper and shot mere centimeters from the goalpost.
In the second half "Shakhtar" calmed down and "Debrecen" did not resist much. The hosts could have scored a consolation goal at their home stadium, but that evening Laštůvka played flawlessly. For "Shakhtar", Fernandinho and Brandão could have increased the score.
So, the team preserved its strength in the game against "Debrecen" and can prepare for Ukrainian championship matches.
"Dnipro" (Ukraine) - "Hibernian" (Scotland) - 5:1 Goals: Nazarenko 1, Riordan 24, Shershun 26, Shelayev 40, Melashchenko 87, 90+3. First match: 0:0. "Dnipro": Kusliy, Hrytsay, Shelayev, Kornylenko (Melashchenko 68), Kotenko (Kravchenko 62), Radchenko, Rusol, Semochko, Andriyenko (Lysytskyi 46), Shershun, Nazarenko. "Hibernian": Malkowski, Whittaker, Murphy, Caldwell, Stewart (Shiels 73), Thompson, O'Connor (Morrow 77), Riordan, Boozy (Fletcher 66), Hogg, Sproule.
The rout that "Dnipro" inflicted on Scottish "Hibernian" was a surprise for many and, probably, for the players themselves. Although, very important in this game was Nazarenko's quick goal, which flew into the Scots' net in the first minute. After Nazarenko's shot, the ball deflected off a defender and ended up in the net. It is pleasant that "Dnipro", more than half renewed compared to last season, did not stop there. Andriyenko could have recorded his first goal in European competitions, but having gone one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he could not beat him.
In turn, Kusliy saved "Dnipro" after O'Connor went one-on-one. In the 24th minute the guests equalized after a shot by Riordan, who in a struggle with Semochko shot into an uncovered corner of "Dnipro's" goal – 1:1. But the guests did not enjoy the acceptable score for long. In the very next attack of "Dnipro", after a corner kick, Hrytsay shot at the rebound and the goalkeeper parried his attempt, but Shershun's follow-up shot from a few meters proved accurate - 2:1.
"Hibernian" conceded the third goal in the 40th minute. In the Scots' penalty area Kornylenko was fouled and the referee awarded an 11-meter kick. Shelayev did not waste his chance and the score was already 3:1.
At the beginning of the second half both teams were not very active and the game went on without chances, and the teams sped up closer to the end of the match. The guests woke up first, when from a few meters Morrow missed the goal. Three minutes before the end of regular time Melashchenko made himself known. After a pass from Nazarenko, the "Dnipro" forward shook the upper 9 of "Hibernian's" goal – 4:1. Less than two minutes passed when the Scot Fletcher, with the complete inaction of the Ukrainians' defense, scores a "clean" second goal, but the referee does not count it.
Melashchenko put a spectacular end to this meeting in the third added minute. After a flank pass from Shelayev, the striker with a first-time shot "puts" the ball into the corner of the Scots' goal – 5:1. We hope that after this victory the resurrection of "Dnipro" is complete and we will see again a real, united Ukrainian team that will make Europe talk about it.