Shakhtar grabbed a vital away goal as they secured a 1-1 draw at fellow Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev.
Ukrainian sides can't be separated after first-leg ends 1-1
Shakhtar Donetsk grabbed a vital away goal as they secured a 1-1 draw in the Uefa Cup semi-final first-leg against fellow Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev.
Dynamo went into the game as slight favourites with the hosts sitting top of the Ukrainian league, 12 points ahead of Shakhtar in second.
The game began in bright fashion with the hosts looking to make their loftier league position tell in the opening exchanges.
They were rewarded for their early pressure 22 minutes in when Oleksandr Aliev fired in a free-kick from the right only for the ball to cannon off the shin of Shakhtar defender Dmytro Chygrynsky into the back of the net for an own goal.
Dynamo could have doubled their lead shortly after when Carlos Correa hit a shot from distance with Andrea Pyatov in the Shakhtar goal beaten but the midfielder could only watch as his shot hit the outside of the post.
The visitors were jolted into life and could have got an undeserved equaliser when Luis Fernandinho threaded a ball through to Ilsinho. The Brazilian tried to square the ball into the path of lone striker Luiz Adriano but Kiev goalkeeper Stanislav Bogush was alert to the danger.
Invaluable
If the first half belonged to Dynamo the second period was a lot more even and Shakhtar got their invaluable away goal when Fernandinho tapped home after good work from his fellow Brazilians.
Jadson picked up the ball and found substitute Willian on the right. The forward carried on into the box before sliding the ball across goal where Fernandinho was there to level the scores.
Dynamo were visibly shell-shocked and were knocked off their game but they could and should have taken a 2-1 lead into the return leg through Aliev.
The impressive Artem Milevskiy held the ball up superbly inside the area and delicately dinked a ball into the path of Aliev five yards out but his low effort was saved by the legs of Pyatov.
Both sides will resume the tie next Thursday where the winner will play either Hamburg or Werder Bremen in the final in Istanbul.
| Dinamo Kiev |
Team Statistics |
Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 5 |
Corners |
3 |
| 25 |
Fouls |
30 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 76.4 |
Passing Success |
77.3 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
26 |
| 76.5 |
Tackles Success |
84.6 |
| 44.9 |
Possession |
55.1 |
| 55.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.4 |
|
