Shakhtar secure title to make it five in a row
Sunday, May 11, 2014
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"Our title is a gift to all the fans," said captain Darijo Srna after FC Shakhtar Donetsk clinched their fifth successive Ukrainian Premier League title with a 3-1 win at FC Zorya Luhansk.
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FC Shakhtar Donetsk have won their fifth consecutive Ukrainian Premier League title after a 3-1 victory at FC Zorya Luhansk kept them six points clear of FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk with one game left to play.
Mircea Lucescu's side needed just a point to be crowned champions and proved too strong for Zorya, who were up against it after losing goalkeeper Mykyta Shevchenko to a 12th-minute red card after bringing down Alex Teixeira. Luiz Adriano opened the scoring from the resultant spot kick.
The Brazilian then got his second on 29 minutes after good work by full-back Vyacheslav Shevchuk, the goal taking the forward's personal tally to 105 for the club – and joint third on the Pitmen's all-time top scorer list alongside Mykhaylo Sokolovskiy.
Željko Ljubenović's free-kick in first-half added time reduced the deficit to cause a few nerves among the Shakhtar faithful, but Eduardo rounded off a quick counterattack in the 92nd minute to seal the points and the title.
"Our title is a gift to all the fans," said captain Darijo Srna, who was making his 266th Ukrainian league appearance to equal the club record of Dmytro Shutkov. "I think that Shakhtar lifted their spirits today.
"Of course, it was hard to play against Zorya as they are trying to secure the Europa League berth. But Shakhtar have been stronger – not just today – and we deserved this title. We knew it would be a difficult game, and our opponents played very well. I congratulate them and wish them luck. But Shakhtar are the champions!"
"Of course, I feel great joy due to the fact that we have won another title," added Lucescu, who has been in charge since 2004. "Zorya were moving a lot; they were well organised throughout the match, aggressive. To some extent, we were lucky to earn a penalty and convert it.
"With more players, of course, it was easier for us to control nearly the entire game. This has perhaps been the toughest year of my spell at Shakhtar. But we still have a lot of work to do, primarily with the new young players."
