.png)
2 hours ago
7
Keep this up and Crystal Palace’s European adventure could end in yet another trophy for Oliver Glasner. Four years ago it was Daichi Kamada who scored the winning goal for Glasner’s Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against West Ham and the Japan midfielder again provided the crucial moment here before setting up the substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen to ensure Palace will head into next week’s second leg with a two-goal advantage.
But they will know that this tie is far from over after a vibrant Shakhtar Donetsk side stuffed with Brazilian flair caused them plenty of problems before cancelling out Ismaïla Sarr’s opener after just 21 seconds – the fastest goal in Conference League history. The Senegal forward now has eight in 11 appearances so far in this competition and – like Kamada, who is out of contract at the end of the season and received a standing ovation from the Palace fans when he was taken off – is quickly cementing his status as a Palace legend.
This stadium was surprisingly overlooked to host matches at Euro 2012 but was refurbished to host the European Games in 2023 and is the seventh different ground to host Shakhtar’s home European matches since they were displaced from the Donbas Arena in 2014. In among the distinctive orange and black shirts there were pockets of Palace fans everywhere you looked, with Selhurst Park also hosting a beamback for those who couldn’t make the trip to Poland.
Glasner made only one change from the team that lost to Liverpool on Saturday as Yéremy Pino came in for Brennan Johnson, while his opposite number Arda Turan named seven Brazilians in his starting lineup. The former Barcelona and Atlético Madrid forward could not hide his disgust with his side’s start as they were caught napping almost immediately after kick-off. Sarr won the initial header and was put clean through by Jean-Philippe Mateta after he and Kamada exchanged passes on the edge of the area. The Senegal forward made no mistake to send the travelling supporters into raptures.
Turan’s mood did not improve when Adam Wharton was given too much space to fire off a shot that was well saved by Dmytro Riznyk. Shakhtar slowly found their feet and spurned two excellent opportunities to equalise that were both created by the lively Alisson Santana down the right flank. There were appeals for a penalty when a fiercely struck Eguinaldo volley hit Daniel Muñoz on his arm but it was firmly across his chest and the German referee, Felix Zwayer, wasn’t interested. Only Kauã Elias will know why he attempted an elaborate scissors kick when the goal was gaping soon after.
By the half-hour mark, such was the extent of Shakhtar’s dominance of possession that they had completed 170 passes compared to only 44 by Palace. Yet they looked vulnerable in defence when Palace broke and Oleg Ocheretko had to take one for the team in hauling down Wharton and was given the first yellow card of the night. There was evidence of Palace’s development under Glasner this season in the final 15 minutes of the first half as they managed to get hold of the ball more and slow the game down to their pace, much to Turan’s frustration as he prowled the technical area virtually kicking every ball.
Shakhtar came out for the second half with real purpose and it took only two minutes for them to draw level. Defending corners has been a major issue for Palace this season and Glasner was left fuming when Kauã Elias beat Maxence Lacroix to a header at the near post. Ocheretko was totally unmarked inside the six-yard box to slide home. Palace responded quickly and they could easily have found themselves back in front before Kamada finally struck. Mateta and Sarr were both denied by Riznyk before the France striker saw his shot come off a post when a long throw from Chris Richards caused panic in the Shakhtar box. They did not heed the warning as two minutes later Kamada slammed home with his left foot after the ball fell perfectly into his path.
There was a hint of fortune about the crucial third when Valeriy Bondar totally misjudged the bounce of the ball and Kamada was able to lay it on a plate for Strand Larsen to give Palace the cushion that they craved.
