The match of the 4th round of the Ukrainian Premier League in Lviv has ended, with Donetsk's Shakhtar suffering an unexpected defeat to Zhytomyr's Polissya. Ruslan Rotan's side beat the reigning champions 2:0, which came as a real surprise to Ukrainian football. For the 'miners' under Arda Turan, this setback rang out as a worrying signal at the start of the season.
How Polissya opened the scoring
The first goal of the match was scored in the 31st minute. The Cape Verdean Andrade broke down the right flank and delivered a precise cross into the penalty area. There, Shakhtar's defenders let Nazarenko go, who won the duel against the 'miners' defenders and put his team ahead. This episode proved to be the turning point: Polissya played with greater confidence, while Shakhtar was unable to turn the game around in the first half.
Arda Turan's reaction at halftime
After the break, Shakhtar's head coach Arda Turan tried to shake up the team with substitutions: left-back Pedro Henrique was replaced by Irakli Azarov, and in midfield Oleh Ocheretko was replaced by Dmytro Kryskiv. However, the situation did not change dramatically. Andrade had several real chances to score, and Polissya continued to create danger around the opponent's goal.
One-on-one strike in the 74th minute
When the Cape Verdean left the field, the Zhytomyr side found the man who would seal the win. In the 74th minute, Oleksandr Andriievsky went one-on-one with Shakhtar's goalkeeper Potroshil and left the goalkeeper no chance, scoring, admittedly, on his second attempt. After conceding the second goal, Shakhtar completely lost their way in attack, while Polissya confidently saw out the win — 2:0.
Table standings and upcoming matches
After this match, Polissya caught up with Shakhtar — both teams have 9 points. The Zhytomyr side sits second in the league table, while Shakhtar is third. In the next round, Polissya will play Kudrivka on Friday, September 4 at 18:00. Shakhtar, in the 5th round, on Sunday, September 5 at 18:00 at the 'Ukraina' stadium, will face the current table leaders — Lviv's Karpaty. On the same day, Epitsentr also thrashed Kudrivka away.
