Too much has already been said about this match. And if previously, before the meeting of the two most principled rivals of the Ukrainian championship, everyone tried to predict the score, this time another question became relevant: "Or will we not see a duel of two reserve teams?"

However, such fears dispersed like ashes in the wind immediately after the starting whistle. Although even the 3 points for victory in this match did not have the traditional super-important significance (the medals had been "assigned" a round before this), nevertheless the principled nature of the head-to-head meetings between "Shakhtar" and "Dynamo" was still preserved. Thus, the teams came out onto the field of the RSK "Olimpiyskyi" in Donetsk with their main squads.

The first half of the match passed with a more than noticeable advantage for the hosts. The Miners had no intention of calmly waiting for suitable opportunities to score against the opponent: from the first minutes they began a persistent search for easy paths to Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's goal. Sometimes en masse, sometimes individually, the Donetsk players tried their luck in attack, but they simply could not achieve success. And the pattern of the game was further complemented by constant fouls from both teams (one can forget about fair play): now Leko would "lay out" Elano on the turf, now Rats would deliver an unpleasant blow to Husiev. However, for such matches this is not a rarity, even a tradition.

Surely the first half of the meeting would have ended with zeros on the scoreboard, if not for the episode in the 37th minute. In a collision with the "Dynamo" player Yerko, Shakhtar forward Andrii Vorobei gets injured. As a result, instead of the injured player, Mircea Lucescu sends another forward onto the field – Oleksii Belik... And what do you know – such a forced substitution bore fruit just 6 minutes later. In the time added by the referee, Belik, having burst into the guests' penalty area, stuns them with an accurate shot into the left corner of Shovkovskyi's goal from his perspective: 1:0 – "Shakhtar" ahead.

And that's when everything just began. The teams came out for the second half with such heated hearts that it seemed you were watching not football but a game of "who can convince whom." And the players of both clubs tried to convince the head referee of the match, Sandor... Now show a card to the opponent, now cancel the punishment for our partner... But let's take it one at a time.

The start of the second half was significantly more dynamic than the first 45 minutes. The main reason – "Dynamo" felt what sporting anger toward their opponent is. And even though it did not add extra skill or ambition to the players of the capital's team, it forced them to constantly fight for the ball, go on the offensive, and press their counterpart. Only this did not hinder "Shakhtar": in the 56th minute, Jadson, taking advantage of a cross into the "Dynamo" penalty area from Brandao, confidently sends the ball past the goalkeeper – 2:0.

And in the 69th minute, "Dynamo" scored as well. For a foul against Oleh Husiev in the "Shakhtar" penalty area, the referee awards a penalty kick, which Diego Rincon confidently converts – 2:1.

And a moment later, "Dynamo" fans received a reason for disappointment: the Kyivans were left short-handed. And the reason for this was far too illogical. During one of the moments, Belik harshly attacked Rodrigo. The latter, having lain on the turf, suddenly approached the referee and began demanding something (probably, at minimum, a yellow card for the opponent), pushing Sandor. Realizing how it could all end, his partners tried to calm Rodrigo down while simultaneously begging the referee for forgiveness. But the representative of Themis was merciless: Rodrigo receives his second yellow card of today's match, and therefore must leave the field. Only at the end he also needed to throw the ball into Sandor's chest...

But this was not the only red card in the match. Another one was seen by Matuzalem for a foul against Leko...

And it was right after this that "Dynamo" equalized: from about 30 meters Kleber spectacularly strikes past Pletikosa – 2:2!

But in the end, "Shakhtar" still won. Again, as in the first half, added time was running, and again the hosts "created a goal." Jadson with a powerful shot puts an end to yet another confrontation between the Donetsk and Kyiv giants – 3:2 in favor of "Shakhtar."

Is there anything else worth adding? It is interesting that despite the planned ceremony for awarding championship medals to both "Shakhtar" and "Dynamo" players, the capital's footballers never received their awards. They went straight to the locker room after the match ended. To the applause addressed to them from the Donetsk stands, only the players of the Ukrainian national team responded from the "Dynamo" side...

Along with the "golden" medals, "Shakhtar" also received the championship Cup, and, by the way, an award of the highest grade was also placed around the neck of one of the comrades of the Donetsk club's president Renat Akhmetov, composer Ihor Krutoy... Interesting, isn't it?...

Round 30 of the Ukrainian championship among top-league teams.

"Shakhtar" – "Dynamo" – 3:2

Goals: Belik 45, Jadson 55, 90 - Rincon 68 (pen.), Kleber 82

Sent off: Matuzalem 75 - Rodrigo 71

"Shakhtar": Pletikosa, Stoican (Srna 62), Lewandowski, Hubschman, Rats, Tymoshchuk, Matuzalem, Elano (Vukic 90), Jadson, Vorobei (Belik 40), Brandao

"Dynamo": Shovkovskyi, Fedorov, Rodolfo (Kleber 60), Leko, Chernat (Belkevych 46), Rincon, Shatskikh (Verpakovskis 46), Husiev, Nesmachnyi, Havrancic, Rodrigo