Slick Shakhtar take initiative against Anderlecht
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Article summary
Shakhtar 3-1 Anderlecht
The Ukrainian side looked set for a sizeable win after two quick first-half goals but Frank Acheampong's strike kept the tie alive for Anderlecht.
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- Shakhtar dominate first half, scoring twice and hitting post
- Eduardo heads in third after Frank Acheampong halves deficit
- Olexandr Kucher's scores his first goal in European competition on his 76th outing
- Anderlecht's Matías Suárez makes 50th UEFA club competition appearance
- Second leg is next Thursday, with quarter-final draw the following day
Shakhtar Donetsk are in the driving seat in this UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie, though the margin of victory against Anderlecht was not as great as they threatened for a while.
Anderlecht were hanging on for dear life after Taison and Olexandr Kucher left Shakhtar two goals to the good midway through the first half and scenting blood. The visitors made it to half-time and Frank Acheampong's header on 68 minutes dragged them back into the contest, only for Eduardo to cut them further adrift late on.
Shakhtar were irresistible at times, and there was only one likely winner when they emerged from a frenetic four-minute spell midway through the first half 2-0 up. The first goal fell to Taison, who showed terrific composure when Silvio Proto beat away Viktor Kovalenko's effort, rolling the ball forward with his studs before lashing in.
For a while Anderlecht could not lay a glove on them, Bram Nuytinck's goal-line clearance to deny Facundo Ferreyra merely delaying the inevitable. A minute later there was nothing anybody could do when Darijo Srna whipped in a trademark cross that Kucher met with a somewhat less characteristic thumping header.
For the rest of the half it was damage limitation for the Brussels outfit. Proto tipped over Ferreyra's strike, Eduardo rattled the outside of the post and Anderlecht somehow held on. The interval provided refuge and they emerged for the second period improved, halving the deficit when a cross from Ibrahima Conté, just on as a substitute, was guided in by Acheampong.
Eduardo restored the two-goal cushion with 11 minutes left, though, to secure a decent advantage to take to Belgium next week.
Alex who?
January's loss of Alex Teixeira (scorer of 25 goals in the first half of the campaign) to China was expected to severely blunt Shakhtar's strike force – it seems to have had the opposite effect. Five games into 2016 and the Pitmen have already managed 13 goals, shared between seven different players. The absence of a dominant target man has added a dimension to their play.
Shakhtar's Achilles heel
For the last 25 minutes of the first half Les Mauves were beaten almost into submission by Shakhtar's relentlessly slick attack. But the Pitmen were less polished at the back, especially when the visitors injected pace into their forward play. Acheampong caused a few issues and it was a burst on the right from Conté that led to their away goal.