Dynamo Kyiv handed Shakhtar Donetsk its second loss of the premier league season on Oct. 6 in Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium, and its first defeat to the arch rival in four seasons and seven fixtures.
The 1-0 victory placed
Dynamo in second, two points behind leader Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, while
Shakhtar remains in third in the domestic league.
Dynamo defender Domagoj Vida scored the only goal
in the 71st minute. He headed a hanger sent from the right side by
Andriy Yarmolenko that goalkeeper Anton Kanibolotskiy partially blocked in mid-air.
The ball spun over the goalkeeper’s shoulders where Shakhtar’s Luiz Adriano had a
chance to save only to whiff with a leg swipe before it went into the left corner.
Both sides played the first ten minutes aggressively
and carelessly, but not without adhering to on-the-pitch discipline. After the
tenth, Shakhtar started demonstrating its usual ball control. It kept the ball mostly
on Dynamo’s side by including the outer defenders in attack. The hosts in turn
relied on quick transitions, often by sending long passes from the center
midfield towards the penalty area or along the wings.
Three yellow cards handed to Shakhtar in the span
of six minutes in the second half left coach Mircea Lucescu’s side shorthanded
– Vyacheslav Shevchuk was sent off in the 62nd for faking injury on the field. To
plug the left side, Lucescu assigned the task to Taras Stepanenko, who doesn’t
have much experience there. Fernando then took up Stepanenko’s vacated spot in
the support zone, followed by Taison in his place.
After the 64th when Darijo Srna received a yellow for chopping at
Yarmolenko’s legs, Dynamo completely took control of the game.
The last time Dynamo beat Shakhtar in a premier league match was on
May 1, 2011 by a score of 3-0.
Dynamo leads the overall matchup between them. Out of 46 games,
Dynamo won 19, lost 15 and drew 12.
Kyiv Post
editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
