\nchampion.com.ua, 15.07.2004, 22:32 \n \nKyiv "Dynamo" failed to secure a victory over Donetsk "Shakhtar" for the second time in five days. After winning the Super Cup in a post-match penalty shootout, the Kyiv team was defeated by the miners in the first round of the 14th Ukrainian championship in Kyiv with a score of 2:0. \n \nUnlike the match in Odesa, where both teams faced incredible heat, the weather decided to surprise both teams with rain in Kyiv, which lasted throughout the match, which, of course, could not but affect the number of mistakes in the players' actions. \n \nFrom the start of the game, "Shakhtar" felt like the host on the stadium field. Mircea Lucescu's charges confidently held the ball, played freely in passing and constantly combined in attack, seizing the center of the field. However, the first dangerous moment arose right at Jan Lastuvka's goal. After a ricochet in the miners' penalty area, Verpakovskis nearly connected with the "crazy" ball, missing by just a few centimeters. For "Dynamo," this was the last more or less dangerous moment near "Shakhtar's" goal in the first half. Thereafter, only one team was noticeable on the field – "Shakhtar." \n \nThe first alarm signal near Shovkovskyi's goal came in the 17th minute. Near the penalty area, Vukic was fouled, and the victim himself struck from the spot at "Dynamo's" goal, hitting the post... Two minutes later, the Donetsk team launched another attack, where after a cross from Rats, Marica headed the ball - over the goal. \n \nCloser to the end of the first half, Marica again had a chance to score, but his header into the far corner of the goal was turned onto a corner by Shovkovskyi. "Dynamo," compared to "Shakhtar's" attacking actions, looked helpless. The absolute absence of combination play and losing the center of the field – all this is in the Kyivans' liabilities. At the same time, the Dynamo players could not get going on the flanks, where Mykhailychenko entrusted places to Nesmachnyi and Peiev. The only footballer in "Dynamo" who was fired up for the fight from the first to the last minute was Badr Kaddouri, who personally marked Andriy Vorobey and did so quite reliably. All others were merely a pale shadow of the team. Andriy Husyn, who replaced Cernat already in the first half, somewhat livened up the game. As for the capital team's attack, Shatskikh was "on level," and Verpakovskis after the European championship seemed unable to understand where he had ended up... \n \nNevertheless, if "Dynamo" did not play in the first 45 minutes, then "Shakhtar" did it instead of them, catching a groove. In the 36th minute, what had to happen happened. Vukic received a pass about 40 meters out, entered the penalty area along the flank and delivered a cross into "Dynamo's" goal area, where the most agile was Lewandowski, who with a cannon shot nearly tore the net of the Kyivans' goal, opening the score at 1:0. After this goal, Shovkovskyi waved his arms for a long time trying to figure out who had missed the Pole. When a few minutes remained until the end of the game, Vukic also had his chance to score in Kyiv, going one-on-one with Shovkovskyi, but he held onto the ball too long, and Fedorov knocked it from under his feet. \n \nIn the 45th minute, Shovkovskyi had to endure more unpleasant moments than a few minutes earlier. Again an error by "Dynamo's" central defenders resulted in another one-on-one with the goalkeeper for Marica, but the Romanian forgave the Kyivans this time too, shooting past the goal. \n \nThe second half of the game followed a slightly different scenario. From the first minutes, the home team started running, gradually beginning to reclaim the center of the field, and the result was not long in coming. Leko in the 51st minute set up Verpakovskis one-on-one with Lastuvka, but the "Shakhtar" goalkeeper did not let the Latvian shoot, timely falling at his feet. \n \nThe first shot on target at the visitors' goal occurred only in the 59th (!!!) minute of the match, when from outside the penalty area Shatskikh, who had already begun to be forgotten, struck the ball well, but, unfortunately for "Dynamo" fans, the miners' goalkeeper reacted to this shot, turning the ball onto a corner. \n \nAfter "Dynamo" failed to use their chances to score, the game calmed down somewhat. A flash of activity occurred about 15 minutes before the final whistle. For "Dynamo," Husyn and Leko shot dangerously, the latter hitting the goal post. "Shakhtar" meanwhile conducted one truly attacking move that ended in a goal. Vukic again crossed into "Dynamo's" penalty area, and substitute Duljaj stuck out his leg, which forced the ball to change its flight direction and fly into the corner of Shovkovskyi's goal – 2:0. After that, the teams played out the remaining time. \n \nSo, "Shakhtar" begins the new Ukrainian championship and gives quite optimistic forecasts regarding the team's chances of reaching the Champions League. Although it is noticeable that Lucescu's team has not yet used its full potential. "Dynamo," on the contrary, has not proven anything to show that it is ready for the Champions League, although in this tournament the Kyivans always play differently. In the second round, "Shakhtar" will examine "Chornomorets" in Donetsk, and "Dynamo" will go on a stroll to Hryhoriy Surkis's possessions in Uzhhorod, where it will meet the local "Zakarpattia." \n \nFrom other matches of the 1st round, it is worth noting the powerful start of Odesa's "Chornomorets," which defeated Kryvyi Rih's "Kryvbas" 3:1, and "Dnipro's" victory over Kharkiv's "Metalist" – 4:2. Probably for the first and last time in the current championship, Poltava's "Vorskla-Naftohaz" became the league leader, scoring three "dry" goals at home against Kyiv's "Arsenal," which this season, it seems, will be one of the "favorites" in the battle for places from 12th to 16th... \n \nResults of the 10th round matches. \n \n"Dynamo" - "Shakhtar" - 0:2 \nGoals: Lewandowski 36, Duljaj 83 \nDynamo: Shovkovskyi, Nesmachnyi, Fedorov, Gavrancic, Kaddouri, Peiev (Husiev 46), Leko, Cernat (Husyn 32), Belkevych, Shatskikh, Verpakovskis (Diogo Rincon 60. \nShakhtar: Lastuvka, Stoican (Belik 74), Barcauan, Lewandowski, Rats, Tymoshchuk, Matuzalem (Bakharev 79), Srna, Vukic, Vorobey (Duljaj 67), Marica. \n \n"Metalurh" D - "Obolon" - 2:1 \nGoals: Toure 14, Tkachenko 80 – Nivinskyi 65. \n \n"Volyn" - "Tavria - 1:0 \nGoal: Sachko 90. \n \n"Borysfen" - "Metalurh" Z - 1:1 \nGoals: Lytovchak 89 – Ilyashov 36. \n \n"Vorskla-Naftehaz" - "Arsenal" - 3:0 \nGoals: Kovalevskyi 20, Medvediev 30, Braila 73. \n \n"Chornomorets" - "Kryvbas" - 3:1 \nGoals: Symonenko 4, 57, Kosyrin 23 – Morozov 22. \n \n"Dnipro" - "Metalist" - 4:2 \nGoals: Melashchenko 4, Rotan 32, Matiukhin 62, Semochko 84 – Seleznov 30, Brovkin 75. \n \nTournament standings of the leaders: 1. "Vorskla-Naftohaz" - 3 points. 2. "Dnipro" - 3. 3. "Chornomorets" - 3. 4. "Shakhtar" - 3. 5. "Metalurh" D - 3. 6. "Volyn" - 3. 7. "Metalurh" Z - 1. 8. "Borysfen" - 1. 9. "Obolon" - 0. 10. "Tavria" - 0. 11. "Metalist" - 0. 12. Kryvbas - 0. 13. "Dynamo" - 0. 14. "Arsenal" - 0. 15. "Illichivets" - 0. 16. "Zakarpattia" - 0. \n