A late Ilsinho strike sealed Shakhtar Donetsk's place in the Uefa Cup final with a 2-1 win over Ukraine rivals Dynamo Kiev.
Future is bright for team in orange as they book final date in Istanbul
A late Ilsinho strike sealed Shakhtar Donetsk's place in the Uefa Cup final with a 2-1 win over Ukraine rivals Dynamo Kiev.
Ismael Bangoura's second-half strike for Kiev looked to have set the tie up for extra-time following Rodriguez Jadson's opener but Brazilian winger Ilsinho popped up in the 88th minute to secure a famous victory.
Both teams had their hearts set on making history by becoming the first Ukrainian team to reach the final and it was the hosts who held the upper hand after taking a 1-1 draw from the first leg.
Yuri Semin's travelling side needed to grab an early goal and striker Bangoura went close with a close-range snap-shot in the fourth minute.
But any signs of the visitors building on their bright start were extinguished after a defensive error allowed Shakhtar to take pole position.
The hosts took the lead in the 17th minute when Jadson hammered home Adriano's cut-back after a mistake by Ebert William Betao in his own box.
Controversy then broke out in the 37th minute, although not to the standards at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, as Ognjen Vukojevic saw his goal disallowed.
The centre-midfielder excellently guided Oleksandr Aliev's long-distance free-kick into the back of the net, however, it was rightly ruled offside, much to the anger of the away team.
Drogba impression
Portuguese referee Olegario Benquerenca waved away the heated appeals before finally brandishing a yellow card to Aliev for his attempt at a Didier Drogba rant which would have ruled him out of the final.
Half-time arrived with midfielder Vukojevic also picking up a booking but Kiev were not to be deterred as the Ukraine league leaders equalised just two minutes into the second half.
It was almost a goal from nothing as Artem Milevskiy picked up a long-ball before laying it off to Aliev, who played a terrific through-ball to Bangoura and the striker made no mistake with a composed finish.
Shakhtar looked nervous after the equaliser and that was echoed with Tomas Hubschman picking up a yellow card which rules the midfielder out of the final.
But Mircea Lucescu's side sealed their place in Istanbul when Brazil international Ilsinho took advantage of some more lackadaisical Kiev defending to grab a winner two minutes before time.
| Shakhtar Donetsk |
Team Statistics |
Dinamo Kiev |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 3 |
Corners |
2 |
| 18 |
Fouls |
22 |
| 7 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.2 |
Passing Success |
76.5 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 68.8 |
Tackles Success |
81.2 |
| 53.5 |
Possession |
46.5 |
| 54 |
Territorial Advantage |
46 |
|
