The teams were approaching the game having totally different goals. Dynamo desperately needed to win to stay in a good position in battle for the second place. Meanwhile Shakhtar didn’t have any special motivation except to defeat Dynamo for the fourth time in the UPL this season.
Before the match Dynamo coach had serious lineup issues. Five first team regulars – Mykolenko, Popov, Tsyhankov, Shabanov and Shepelev – missed the game due to injuries and suspensions. Thus young defender Syrota made his debut for the first team while Kadiri was the second centre back.
The first half was definitely a failure for the White-Blues. They unleashed only one shot on goal and conceded twice. At first Stepanenko sent the ball into the net after it hit the post and then Konoplianka hit the far bottom corner from outside the box.
Dynamo didn’t give up and pulled one back quite quickly after the break. Tsytaishvili put a cross into the penalty area from the right side, goalkeeper parried the header by Shaparenko, but Verbic was there to score. In the 67th minute home side equalized. Syrota found de Pena with a perfect long ball, Shakhtar keeper rushed forward, but Carlos was the first to reach the ball and hit the target with a chip.
It seemed that Olexiy Mykhailychenko’s men could even with the game, but the mistake of Dynamo defense resulted in goal by Alan Patrick.
There was still enough time to score again, but Karavayev sent the ball wide in a pretty good situation. And in a stoppage time Pivaric was sent off for a rough foul.
So, Dynamo lose 2:3 and stay in the second place in the UPL table, but after the game between FC Zoria Luhansk and FC Oleksandria they can be third.
UPL. Matchday 29
FC Dynamo Kyiv – FC Shakhtar Donetsk – 2:3 (0:2)
July 4 2020. Kyiv, NSC Olimpiyskyi
Dynamo: Boiko, Kedziora, Kadiri, Syrota, Pivaric, Sydorchuk, Shaparenko, Tsytaishvili (Karavayev, 74), Verbic, Buialskyi (Kargbo, 84), Rusyn (de Pena, 46).
Shakhtar: Trubin, Dodo, Vitao, Matviyenko, Bolbat (Cipriano, 55), Stepanenko (Bondarenko, 77), Alan Patrick, Solomon (Taison, 71), Marcos Antonio, Konoplianka (Marlos, 76), Moraes (Fernando, 77).
Goals: Verbic (51), de Pena (67) – Stepanenko (31), Konoplianka (39), Alan Patrick (72).
Booked: Kadiri (63) – Solomon (17), Bolbat (42), Stepanenko (62).
Sent off: Pivaric (90+1).
