“We achieved something great today”

The great showdown between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup semi-finals has been hailed by many as a step of mainstream acceptance of the extraordinary level of football in the Ukraine. With Dynamo Kyiv running away with the domestic championship, Shakhtar Donetsk pulled off an incredible upset, winning 2-1 and now advance to the finals against Werder Bremen on 20 May.

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.”

Category: UPL News