After early missed chances by Dynamo, Shakhtar made in 1-0 at the seventeenth minute as Darijo Srna’s cross into the box wasn’t cleared and Luiz Adriano provided Jádson the ball, whose shot found the top corner. Two minutes after the break Dynamo squared the match as Ukraine internationals Artem Milevskiy and Oleksandr Aliyev linked up with the later providing the ball to Ismaël Bangoura for the finish over Shakhtar ‘keeper Andriy Pyatov. With a minute left Ilsinho scored the winner as he received a long pass on the right and after getting past Badr El Kaddouri and Ayila Yussuf he drove the ball into the far bottom corner.

Following the match Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mircea Lucescu said:

“We achieved something great today. We are now a part of the history of European football. The fact we will play in Istanbul means so much for us. It was a tough game as Dynamo were at their best as well. The fans were treated to both a show and a battle. We still have games to play against Dynamo and that’s good because they are always interesting and improve the level of the Ukrainian league.”

Down by two goals in aggregate at the start of the match, Marseille went on the attack immediately, pressing Shakhtar into a defending cocoon. Yet for all of Marseille’s attacking intent it was Shakhtar who took the lead at thirty minutes when Ilsinho set Fernandinho free, with the Brazilian closing out from the most improbable of angles as the Marseille ‘keeper was off the post. The lead did not last long as two minutes before the break Marseille grabbed an equalizer as a cross by Charles Kaboré was headed-on by Ben Arfa and after the initial attempt was denied by Andriy Pyatov, he pounded the rebound in. Dominating in possession, Marseille would not find a way past Pyatov in the second half and in the third minute of added-time Luiz Adriano made it 2-1 as he drove the ball Steve Mandanda’s legs and into the net from eight metres.

Dynamo maintained its fifteen point lead on Shakhtar with a 3-1 victory over Chornomorets Odessa, however the match was decided till late. After veteran Ukraine international Andriy Nesmachnyi gave Dynamo the lead, Volodymyr Bondarenko squared it up just before the hour. Serhiy Kravchenko and Oleksandr Aliyev scored in the final twenty minutes to decide the match. (see Yevy’s blog for full details)

Shakhtar Donetsk overtook Metalist Kharkiv for second place as they defeated Arsenal Kyiv 3-0 with all strikes coming after the break. Oleksandr Hladky, Polands Mariusz Lewandowski and Jádson all broke the mark to seal the victory.

The upset of the week came as Metalist Kharkiv was held by Karpaty to a 1-1 draw. Marko Dević goal for Metalist five minutes after the break leveled the match after Serhiy Kuznetsov gave Karpaty the lead early in the match. The draw dropped Metalist a point behind Shakhtar.

Elsewhere Metalurh Donetsk overcame Lviv 1-0 with a goal by Velizar Dimitrov in the nintieth minute. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk defeated Vorskla Poltava 2-1 with Serhiy Nazarenko scoring the winner with five minutes left. Zorya Luhansk defeated Kharkiv 2-0 with Parid Xhihani and Olexiy Kurilov striking for Luhansk. Metalurh Zaporizhya lost points on the race as they were held to a 1-1 draw to Illichivets and only saved from a defeat with Adolf Teikeu’s goal with twenty-two minutes left. Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih defeated Tavriya Simferopol 1-0 with Serhiy Motuz scoring with thirteen minutes left in the opening half.

Although Shakhtar Donetsk is coming off a 1-0 loss to Metalurh Zaporizhya they are confident as Marseille visits Olympiyskiy Stadium. The loss, although difficult in their chase of Dynamo was caused mostly through a number of players absences during international break and not being prepared for the match. Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu stirred up sentiments with Dynamo as he announced the winner of their quarter final match will advance to Istanbul:

“They have a great European history and play good football. They are in very good shape and playing with a lot of enthusiasm. One of these strong teams will be in the final.”

Shakhtar Donetsk Darijo Srna responded to his sides poor start of the year:

“We have a strong character and that is the reason we overcame the crisis. I’m sure we will continue to play good football and will finish second.”

“Both teams play open football so the game should be interesting for the fans. Marseille are a very clever team. I’m sure we will score but the most important thing is not to concede a goal. Small mistakes can cost you a lot.”

Brandão is excluded from Marseille’s lineup as he is cup-tied with Shakhtar’s only injury absence Serbian Igor Duljaj.

Metalurh Zaporizhya pulled off the upset of the weekend as they defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 with Dmytro Nevmyvaka scoring the only goal of the match five minutes in as he headed in a perfect long cross in from the edge of the six-yard box. Shakhtar had numerous opportunities to score but couldn’t find a way in.

Metalist Kharkiv closed the gap on Shakhtar by defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 3-2, who played half the match down a man after Yevhen Borovyk was shown a straight red before the break. Marko Devic gave Metalist the lead nine minutes in as he headed-in a cross into the box with Olexiy Bielik leveling the match for Dnipro fourteen minutes later. Jackson Coelho gave Metalist the lead at the half hour with a perfectly placed free-kick followed with Devic second goal of the day as he connected from the spot at the break. Down a man Dnipro fought back and brought the match to within one three minutes after the hour via Ruslan Rotan’s long set-piece into the box that somehow avoided all contact before bouncing into the net.(for a full match report please visit Yevy’s Dynamo Kyiv blog).

Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih defeating Zorya Luhansk 2-1. Ervin Bulku opened the scoring for Kryvbas at the eighth minute with Ukraine U-21 Olexiy Antonov bringing the match level three minutes later. Olexandr Maxymov scored the winner with a quarter of a hour remaining.

Illichivets pulled off an incredible comeback scoring twice late in the match to beat Vorskla Poltava 3-2. Nikolay Kashevsky opened the scoring for Illichivets fifteen minutes in after a defensive giveaway by Vorskla in their own end. Jovan Markoski squared the match nine minutes before the break as he headed in a cross into the box. The stunning finish to match came with three minutes remaining Andriy Oberemko found the mark as he headed the ball in from the center of the six yard area. However Illichivets earned only its fourth win of the year as Dmytro Vorobei scoring the winner in added time.

Kharkiv defeated Karpaty Lviv 2-0 as Ruslan Hunchak scored from the spot eighteen minutes in and Ruslan Platon added an insurance goal with five minutes remaining.

Tavriya Simferopol defeated Chornomorets Odessa 2-0. Olexander Kovpak connected from the spot six minutes before the break with Ici Idahor adding the second with eleven minutes left on the clock

Finally Arsenal Kyiv and Lviv played to a goalless draw.

Elsewhere Shakhtar Donetsk continued its run up the table with a 1-0 defeat Vorskla Poltava as the captain, Croatia international Darijo Srna netted the only goal three minutes into the new half with a perfectly placed free-kick around the wall .

In the upset of the weekend Tavriya Simferopol shocked Metalurh Donetsk 4-1. After a Belarusian international Vladimir Karytska gave Donetsk the lead seven minutes in, Simferopol responded with four unanswered goals. Željko Ljubenović brought the match level twelve minutes later with the first of his two goals followed up with Olexander Kovpak winning strike six minutes before the half. Sasha Juričić added an insurance goal with twelve minutes remaining with Ljubenović second of the match four minutes later.

Oleh Anatolievych Lutkov’s Metalurh Zaporizhya overcame Lviv 2-1 with a last minute goal. Volodymyr Arzhanov opened the scoring for Zaporizhia fifteen minutes after the start before Vitaliy Romaniuk leveled the match with six minutes remaining in the half. Dmytro Nevmyvaka found the winning with a minute remaining on the clock.

Not to be outdone in exciting endings Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk defeated Karpaty Lviv 1-0 as Ukraine international Maksym Kalynychenko scored a minute into added time. (for a full match report please visit Darcy’s Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk blog).

Zorya Luhansk defeated Chornomorets Odessa 2-1. Anatoliy Didenko gave Odessa lead just before the half hour but Junior evened the match eight minutes later. Promising defender Oleksiy Kurylov, who is likely to feature internationally soon scored the winner with eleven minutes left.

Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih narrowly got by relegation concerned Kharkiv with Ervin Bulku’s goal seven minutes into the half.

Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Illichivets 2-1. Olexiy Hai gave Shakhtar the lead twenty-two minutes after the start when he turned in Vyacheslav Shevchuk pass from the six yard box. Nikolay Kashevsky canceled out the lead seven minutes after the break when he headed in Dmytro Vorobey’s long range cross. However with eight minutes remaining Darijo Srna curling free-kick gave Shakhtar the 2-1 victory.

Metalurh Donetsk and Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih played to a 1-1 draw. Metalurh took lead when Serhiy Danylovsky scored eleven minutes after the break but Ruslan Kostyshyn leveled with nine minutes remaining. Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih finished one man down as Olexander Hrytsai was shown his second yellow with five minutes remaining.

Metalurh Zaporizhya defeated Zorya Luhansk 2-1. Parid Xhihani gave Zorya Luhansk the lead at the half hour mark but Serhiy Siliuk leveled before the break. Dmytro Nevmyvaka found the winner for the home side four minutes into injury time.

Vorskla Poltava defeated Tavriya Simferopol 1-0 as Andriy Boiko scored eleven minutes after the break.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and relegation threatened Lviv played to a 1-1 draw. Ihor Il’kiv snatch the lead for Lviv ten minutes in but Vitaliy Lysytsky equalized the match three minutes after the break.

Arsenal defeatd Kharkiv 1-0 as Ionut Mazilu scored the lone goal twelve minutes after the opening whistle.

Karpaty defeated 3–0 Chornomorets with Serhiy Kuznetsov scoring at the sixteenth minute and then seven minutes after the hour. Denys Kozhanov made it 3-0 eleven minutes before the whistle after Aleksandar Trišović was sent off with his second yellow card.

With clear intention not to give away their solid lead, Shakhtar Donetsk wasn’t prepared to risk attacking too far forward. However after the break Tottenham controlled momentum and took the lead five minutes before the hour when Mexican international Giovani dos Santos powerfully drove the ball into the net from the area. Coming close to bringing the aggregate even, Fernandinho scored with four minutes remaining, thus ensuring Shakhtar’s advance.

Myron Markevych’s club was definitely feeling confident as they came out quick to the attack with two early efforts drifting off-course. However Valyayev made no mistake on the half hour off a nice one-two as he finished from just beyond the spot. Ten minutes later Jajá’s free-kick from twenty-five metres put the match out of reach 2-0.

Next Thursday all of our teams returning to UEFA Cup action, so please join and support Dynamo, Metalist Kharkiv and Shakhtar Donetsk to the next round.