Ipswich Town 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk – Match Report
Saturday 20 Jul 2024 15:00

A first-half goal from captain Sam Morsy gave the Blues a 1-0 win over Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donesk in their first open friendly of the pre-season at Sportzentrum Landskron in Villach, Austria.

The match was one 90-minute match, instead of the previously announced two 60-minute matches.

Ben Johnson was the only new signing to start, at right-back, with Leif Davis on the left and Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess at centre-back. Christian Walton was in goal.

Captain Sam Morsy was paired with Jack Taylor in midfield, with Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Marcus Harness behind striker George Hirst.

Jacob Greaves and Liam Delap were on the bench, but fellow summer signings Omari Hutchinson and Aro Muric were missing from the matchday squad but were on the pitch after attending training camp in Carinthia this week.

Hutchinson was left out of consideration because his workload has not yet been sorted and Muric arrived too late to be included.

Young players Ryan Carr, Leon Ayinde, Finley Barbrook, Osman Foyo and Jesse Nwabueze were among the substitutes

The Ukrainian champions were playing their sixth friendly match in the pre-season and were confident in the early stages. In the third minute, the ball was in the net. Lassina Traore worked in a low cross from the left, but was offside.

Town started the match against Shakhtar when it started to rain very heavily and on the 16th they got their first chance.

Hirst cut from the left side of the box to Chaplin on the penalty spot, but the striker’s low shot was deflected by a defender.

Three minutes later, Burns curled a trademark Trivela cross over from the right, but a defender got in front of Harness.

Shakhtar regained the lead and should have gone ahead in the 25th minute. Former Brazil U20 international Kevin seized Davis’ poor header back to Walton from a long ball and when the keeper slipped he lifted the ball towards goal only to see it bounce painfully off the bar and to safety.

Four minutes later, the Blues took the lead. Tobias Vinicius took a free-kick for Shakhtar on their right and inexplicably played it into the air over his own penalty area, where Burns stole it before, while on the ground, laying it back to Morsy just outside the area, from where the Egypt international blasted a low shot past Dmytro Riznyk on his right and into the net.

At 34-0, Taylor played the ball over the top for Burns, who nearly got hold of the ball while being covered by a defender.

In the 40th minute, Blues captain Morsy and Shakhtar’s former Brazil U23 international Marlon were shown yellow cards after a minor incident on the right. Kevin also played a part before order was restored.

A minute before the end of the first half, Davis provided a cross from the left, but it went just too high for Chaplin at the far post.

Just before the whistle, Artem Bondarenko curled the ball just wide of Walton’s right post.

Town took the lead through an impressive strike from Morsy, with the Blues making the most of Shakhtar’s error.

The Ukrainian side had at times looked a team further into the preparation than Town, but without causing the Blues’ defensive line too many problems. Chances were also few and far between at the other end, but Town will be pleased with their first 45 minutes of open pre-season match action.

For the second half, the Blues made four changes, with Cieran Slicker, George Edmundson, Jacob Greaves and Massimo Luongo replacing Walton, Woolfenden, Burgess and Taylor.

Marian Shved, a Shakhtar half-time substitute, scored the first effort of the second half from 51 yards. She received a loose pass from Greaves and took the ball to the edge of the box. She fired, but Slicker punched the ball away.

Hull’s new signing made amends a minute later by forcing Vinicius away from goal after being played in on the left side of the penalty area. On 54, Hirst volleyed a bouncing ball over from the edge of the area for Town.

The Blues made further changes after an hour, with Elkan Baggott, Freddie Ladapo, Delap, Ayinde and Carr replacing Davis, Harness, Hirst, Burns and Johnson, who certainly didn’t look out of place alongside his new team-mates.

Almost immediately, Delap was shown a yellow card for a clash with Shakhtar sub Yehor Nazaryna, which new Blues striker and teammate Chaplin clearly thought the midfielder had made a big deal of. There appeared to have been little to no contact and the shouting was completely unnecessary.

Greaves headed over from a Morsy corner in the 67th minute, and within a minute the Blues had a chance down the left. Ladapo did well, but Baggott cut inside along the byline and fed the ball back to Delap, whose effort found the side netting.

After the ensuing goal kick, Luongo seized on a loose pass and stole the ball on the edge of the penalty area, but his shot into the empty net was blocked on the line by Bartol Franjic.

Town were the better team in the second half, Shakhtar noticeably more sloppy and less controlled after making numerous substitutions. With 15 minutes to go, captain and goalscorer Morsy made way for Finley Barbrook.

Shakhtar should have equalised in the 77th minute when Newertton was cleared with plenty of space down the left and advanced to the edge of the penalty area, but Eguinaldo fired the ball over the bar.

Three minutes later Edmundson was shown a yellow card for a foul on Newertton on the left and from the free-kick Eguinaldo headed the ball straight at Slicker.

In the 85th minute, Shved headed the ball wide at the far post, giving the Ukrainians a few more chances against the Blues in the closing stages. There were now a number of young players and a number of players were not in the right positions.

Town made their final substitutions a minute later, with Foyo and Nwabueze taking over from Chaplin and Ayinde.

Nwabueze had an almost immediate chance to score, Barbrook’s low shot was deflected on the edge of the box, but a defender got past and seized the chance. That was the last action of the game before the referee blew his whistle just in time.

City will be happy with the winning start against such a strong opponent, although results in the pre-season are certainly not the most important thing.

The Ukrainians, who have been Champions League players for seasons, played stylishly but not really dangerously in the first half. The Blues sometimes had the upper hand and took their only real chance.

Town were largely in control in the second period as both teams made the usual series of substitutions and could have gone further ahead. Luongo was unlucky, his shot cleared off the line and Delap fired home soon after.

Shakhtar came close on a couple of occasions towards the end, but overall Town deserved the win, bringing their training camp in Austria to an end, with the squad making a rapid return tonight.

The Blues will be in action against Fortuna Düsseldorf at Portman Road next Saturday.

Location: Walton (Slicker 46), Johnson, Davis (Baggott 60), Woolfenden (Edmundson 46), Burgess (Greaves 46), Morsy (c) (F Barbrook 75), Burns (Ayinde 60 (Nwabueze 86)), Chaplin ( Foyo 86), Harness (Ladapo 60), Taylor (Luongo 46), Hirst (Delap 60).

Shakhtar: Riznyk, Traore, Bondar, Sudakov, Zubkov, Azarov, Vinicius, Bondarenko, Matviienko (c), Marlon, Kevin. Subs: Bahlai, Tvardovskyi, Stepanenko, Eguinaldo, Shved, Ghram, Hlushchenko, Pedro, Faryna, Nazaryna, Kozik, Savchenko, Pedrinho, Newertton, Franjic, Latsabidze.

Photos: ITFC

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orford buoy added 15:42 – Jul 20 We could see more of Barbrook and Carr in the first team. Barbrook looked calm and on the front foot, while Carr looked as indestructible as Fridge and Delap – who looked hungry. Apart from the first 10 minutes, Town looked to be in control.

Vancouver_Blue added 15:47 – Jul 20 I forgot Freddie Ladapo was still a Town player

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