Shakhtar Donetsk v Dynamo Kiev Live

Despite being the clear favorite to win the first leg at home, Dynamo Kiev could not achieve more than an unsatisfying 1-1 tie versus the fellow Ukrainian team from Donetsk. Shakhtar will now host Dynamo Kiev at home on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. GMT to determine which team will make it to the finals in Istanbul.

In the first leg the crowd saw a game coming short of the expectations many may have had for an UEFA Cup semi final. Shakhtar did not seem to have much motivation to make it anywhere near Dynamo’s goal while Kiev relied on the individual skills of their star player Oleksandr Aliev to get past Donetsk’s defense. Thus, it was no surprise that Aliev’s free-kick in the 22^nd minute forced an owngoal by Shakhtar player Dmytro Chirginsky. Afterwards Kiev intensified its efforts to extend the lead but was unable to convert any of the numerous opportunities in front of Donetsk goalkeeper Pyatov.

As it turned out, missing the said opportunities backfired over the course of the game. After 68 minutes Shakthar striker Fernandinho made a surprising appearance in front of Dynamo’s goal and put Willian’s pass to the near post behind Kiev’s goalkeeper. Thus, Kiev had very little to show at the end of regulation, being tied 1-1 at home and putting themselves in a must-win situation for the second leg.

Considering the way Shakthar Donetsk played in Kiev, it appears to be a reasonable assumption that they will focus on preventing Kiev from scoring rather than intensifying their own offensive efforts. After all, Kiev will have to attack and score which might open up opportunities for a counterattack for Shakhtar’s speedy strikers. Ultimately, Dynamo is still the favorite despite the result of the first leg. Currently being 12 points ahead of Donetsk in the Ukrainian league, anything else than a win versus Shakthar would be a huge disappointment for the team from Ukraine’s capital.

You can watch the second leg of this all Ukrainian UEFA Cup semi-final right here at oleolefootball, the home of live online football streaming.