A European Trophy Hunt

The Final Push



Having hit the Ukrainian Cup Semi Final, we really wanted to push on and wrap up the trophy. Metalurg D didn't make this easy for us. We only managed a goalless draw away from home, and in the second leg we found ourselves trailing for the majority of it. Only 87th and 90t+2 minute goals from Teixeira and Benteke respectively carried us into the final. We made hard work of it, but we got there!
Next up we played the final. A double from Bernard, one either side of the break, put us in a comfortable position. Metalist grabbed one back, but it was to be no more than a consolation goal. We had won the Ukrainian Cup!
After waiting a month, we finally got to play our final league game of the season. Goverla were the opponents. Bernard settled any early nerves when he found the back of the net 5 minutes in. Costa gave us a 2 goal cushion with under half an hour played. Goverla got one back, which put us on edge considering what we've thrown away so far this season. We held out though, and with that, we were crowned the champions of Ukraine!



Here's the final league standings. We clinched the title by 3 points over fierce rivals Dynamo Kyiv, as they slipped to a final day defeat to Metalist. A great season that came right down to the final day, you can't beat that! Olimpic D are the team who are going down.



With three pieces of silverware to my name this season, I've entered into the Ukraine Hall Of Fame! This is just the start!



Glad to see the board are happy with my performance. They've offered me a contract to take me through until 2017. A nice little extension earned there!

Pre-season Round-up!



We played just three friendlies before the start of this season, all away from home too! We managed to come out on top of each one.
Our first match was against lower league side Kremin. We breezed through the game an won 2-0.Next up, we went off to Belgium. Lokeren were our opponents here. Again we won by a 2 goal margin. This one ending 3-1. Finally, over to Romania, to play CFR Cluj. We fell behind, but two second half goals was enough to make it three wins from three games.

Our only downside to pre-season was that Benteke suffered a torn calf muscle, and will miss the first 2 to 3 months of the season!

Shalhtars Solid Start



Our first game of the season saw us take on Metalist, where we recorded a 2-0 victory. A goal just before the break from Grechyshkin put us ahead, before midfielder Stepanenko opened his account for the season.
Zorya were next in line, and our first away game of the season. An early goal from Bernard and a late goal from Marcio Azevedo confirmed that we'd have 6 points from 2 games.
Next up, the Super Cup, and once again we'd face Dynamo Kyiv. A side we faced 3 times last season, and won each time. So this was just a routine victory, though a better result than I had expected. Roberts started upfront due to Benteke being injured, and he certainly gave a great performance. 4 goals for him, 2 either side of the break, and an own goal by Rybka gave us an emphatic victory!
Returning to league action against Illichivets, we wrapped up our third consecutive league victory this season! Bernard, Azevedo and Patrick were the scorers on this occasion. Also, we ended the month without conceding a single goal!



Our 3 wins from 3 has been matched by Dnipro and Chornomorets, however, we sit top of the pile for now on goal difference! A terrible start for Dynamo Kyiv saw them not only lose the Super Cup, but only win 1 of their opening 3 league games, drawing 1 and losing 1! Great news for me! At the other end, Goverla and newly promoted Desna are yet to earn themselves a single point!

Our First League Defeat



We started the month with a defeat. Kryvstov gave us the lead, soon to be cancelled out by Barannik. Costa put us back ahead, but again we couldn't hold it, conceding two more to eventually slump to a 3-2 defeat.
We bounced back well against Volyn though, 2 goals each for Bernard and Costa, and the other 2 shared between Ilsinho and Taison got us back to winning ways.
Newly promoted Desna were hard to break down, and our only goal was scored 6 minutes in, with Taison tucking away a penalty.
Ternopil gave us an early scare when they took a 12th minute lead against us in the cup, but we soon turned it over. 4 goals from Costa and one from Bernard lead us to a comfortable 5-1 victory, even with Stepanenko missng a penalty.
Our final game saw us pick up another 3 points. Costa and Roberts scored either side of the break to sink Karpaty.




It's still early days in the season, but we're joint top on points with Vorskla, the only team to prevent us from taking all 3 points so far this season. However, we're sitting on top due to our superior goal difference.



The Champions League groups have been drawn, and we'll face stern competition again, although if we fight hard enough I believe we can pip Porto to second place! Along with Porto, we face my favourite club Chelsea,and Ludogorets.



Again we made a bit of money in the transfer market, although not how I'd of liked to! Along with a load of free transfers and loans heading out, we sold Fred for £15.75 million, due to Dortmund activating his release clause. Kucher joined Leicester for £550k, and striker Gladkyi left for Metalist in a £4.8 million deal. Real Madrid made a late swoop for Douglas Costa, activating his £12 million release clause. It's a shame to see both him and Fred leave the club this summer!



In the second half of last season we started leaking goals, so to help prevent this, I've bought in a replacement for Pyatov. Fernando Muslera will now be our number 1 goalkeeper, costing £10.5 million. Also, after losing Fred we needed to replace him, and another £10.5 million deal saw us snap up Marko Marin!

Start of the Champions League



September started with a 3-1 victory over Metalurg Zp. Roberts, Grechyshkin and a late Rakitskyi goal saw us take 3 points.
Next up, a visit to Stamford Bridge, unfortunately they led 3-0 by the break, but Bernard pulled one back for us, not that it changed the game. An expected defeat.
Rivals Dnipro couldn't prevent us from another win, with defender Rakitskyi on the scoresheet agian, aswell as German newboy Marin.
We were drawn to Karpaty in the Ukrainian Cup 3rd Round, however a bore draw in the first leg means it's all to play for in the seond leg!
Another draw followed, this one in the league. Matalurg D managed to come back from 1 down to draw 1-1, afetr Roberts gave us an early lead!
Back to Champions League football, and Ludogorets would be our next opponents. A goalless first half had me worried, although we came out firing in the second half. Ilsinho opened the scoring, before Benteke scored on his return from injury. Stepanenko also found the net, late in stopage time.



With 10 games gone I currently lead Dyanamo Kyiv and Chornomorets by 2 points, and Vorskla by 3 points. Still a lot of work to do yet!



A decent start to the Champions League having 1 win and 1 defeat this month in the Champions League, we currently sit 2nd in the group! Not a bad start!

More Good Form for Shakhtar



We were happy to start the month against our rivals, Dynamo Kyiv, and that showed on the pitch. Rakitskyi, Marin, Stepanenko and Benteke (2), all finding the net in an inpressive 5-2 victory! A massive result, just what we needeed against them!
High flying Chornomorets were next in our path, despite a goalless first half, we eventually ran out victorious. Bezotosnyi gifted us the lead through an own goal, before Benteke and Marin both found the net.
Next up, off to Portugal, for our tie against Porto. Marin continued his fine goalscoring form by scoring twice in the first half, along with a Srna penalty, leading us to an impressive 3-1 victory.
Back to domestic action, and back at home we faced Goverla. Patrick scored on his return to the squad, as did Teixeira. Grechyshki mad it 3-0 before the break. The scoring was rounded off with an own goal, completing the 4-0 scoreline.
The Ukrainian Cup 3rd Round gave us no problems, when we faced a home tie against Karpaty. All 4 of our goals came in the first half, with Patrick opening the scoring. Twenty minutes later Benteke got our second, before Roberts and Rakitskyi both netted in the final three minutes of the half. A routine victory in this fixture.
We did taste defeat this month, and that was given to us by Metalist. Despite us creating more chances, we couldn't take them. Metalist found the net both times in the second half.



After an almost perfect month, we sit top of the league, with a 4 point cushion over Dynamo Kyiv. We need to push on and open up a decent gap at the top!



A decent win over Porto this month leaves us is a great position halfway through the group stage. Chelsea expectedly lead, winning 3 out of 3, whilst we're 2nd having won 2 and lost 1 so far. Suprisingly Ludogorets have 3 points, and Porto in 4th with no points!

Another Solid Month



The second game against Porto was our first fixture of November, and we brushed them aside again. Roberts had us off to a flyer, before Benteke made it 2. Rakitskyi made it 3-0 midway through the second half, before Otavio got a consolation goal for Porto.
Roberts was on the scoresheet again when we faced Zorya. Into the second half, Stepanenko grabbed our second of the game to secure 3 more points.
Illichivets couldn't stop us either, as we recorded a 4-0 victory away from home. 2 goals from Benteke, with 1 each from Teixeira and Stepanenko was plenty to guide us to another league victory.
Our clash with Vorskla was even more comfortable than that though, as we finished 5-0 winners. Top scorer Benteke was clinical infront of goal as usual, banging in a hat-trick. Teixera grabbed himself another goal, who's also been on the scoresheet a fair few times in recent weeks. Patrick was the other scorer.
Chelsea came to Ukraine with a perfect record in the groups to date, and that wasn't about to change. Rakitskyi scored an own goal to put The Blues ahead, before Diego Costa added their second, and ensured the victory.
Finally, we faced Volyn, and put in another great performance. Patrick had our first of the match, before it was doubled by Benteke. Grechyshkin and Bernard also netted before the break, and saw us to an easy 4-1 victory.



A perfect month in the league from both us and Dynamo Kyiv sees us remain just 4 points clear. Slightly disappointing as after a month like that you'd expect the gap to open. Hopefully they'll slip soon!



After another victory over Porto and defeat to Chelsea, we're safely into the 1st Knockout Round of the Champions League, for the first time under my management!

Final Game Before The Break



Our final match before we stopped for the winter was the Champions League clash with Ludogorets. We didn't hang about in this fixture. Benteke opened the scoring in the first minute, before Bernard made it 2-0 after 16 minutes. Benteke added his second, and our third before the break. An own goal and a goal from Marin both in the last 10 minutes concluded a convincing scoreline.



Our place in the next round was already confirmed, but here's the final standings. Chelsea won the group with 5 wins and a draw. We finished 2nd with 4 wins, only losing to Chelsea, both times unfortunately. Porto were poor, gaining just 4 points from the 6 games. As expected, Ludogorets finished bottom of the group.



The draw for the next round, and it pits us against German giants Dortmund! There are several other teams in this round I would of rather faced, but that's the luck of the draw. We'll have to give it our best shot!

Back To Competitive Action



Here's the round-up from the winter break. We done well to win most of the games throughout this period, although we did suffer a couple of disappointing losses. However, it's only friendlies so it's not too important!



Our first match after the break was the 1st leg against Borussia Dortmund. We got off to a great start in Ukraine with a 15th minute goal from Roberts. 10 minutes later Benteke made it better for us. Unfortunately, we couldn't add to our advantage to take to the second leg, but we did prevent them from getting an away goal!
Only 1 league fixture to report and that was against 14th placed Desna. A routine 5-1 victory in which Benteke scored 4 of the goals, with the other coming from former Chelsea man Marko Marin.



With just 7 games to go this season we still hold our 4 point advantage over Dyamo Kyiv, but have a far superior goal difference.

One piece of transfer news from January, as we didn't have much action. But ageing right back Darijo Srna left for Athletico Madrid in a deal costing £1 million.

Shakhtar Continue To Surprise!



A disappointing start to the month with a 2-2 draw against Karpaty. Benteke and Bernard scored the goals for us, as we were unfortunate to only come away with a point.
Back to winning ways against Metalurg Zp, with Bernard on the scoresheet once again, this time on there twice though!
Our second leg against Dortmund was always going to be tough, especially in Germany. We went behind 17 minutes in after Kagawa found the net. 3 minutes into the second half and Hummels had them 2-0 up, level on aggregate! We kept chipping away and finally got our reward, Benteke scored 18 minutes from time to give us the away goal! Into the next round we went,despite the 2-1 loss on the night.
Dnipro were our final league game of the month, and 2 goals in 3 minutes gave us a 2-0 win. Marin and Grechyshkin were the match winners.
The Champions League 2nd Knockout Round saw us drawn against Italian giants Juventus. I was surprised with the start we made, Grechyshkin fired us ahead after 15 minutes.Bernard gave us a 2 goal lead shortly before the break. Marchision got Juventus an away goal 11 minutes into the second half, before Patrick restored out 2 goal advantage shortly after. A cracking victory!



Our gap has increased by 1 point over Dynamo Kyiv, who are still keeping up the pressure, sitting just 5 points behind us. We've got 4 games remaining in the league this season, 1 of which is against our fierce rivals! It could be a tight end to the season!

April - A 9 Game Month!



Our first game of an extraordinarily long month was against Metalurg D. Marin put us ahead with a goal in the first half. Benteke scored early in the second half, before Bernard got our third. Stepanenko and Kryvstov were both also on the scoresheet.
Next up the second leg against Juventus, after our 3-1 victory at home we felt quietly confident of progression. Goals from Tevez and Pogba in the opening 11 minutes gave the hosts the lead on away goals. A minute later Barardi scored an own goal, and a crucial away goal for us! Berardi then netted at the right end to make it 3-1. Kryvstov scored 15 minutes from time to secure our place in the next round!
A huge game against Dynamo Kyiv followed next, and it wasn't at good timing for us. Duda and Ruben gave Kyiv a 2-0 lead going into half time. Khacheidi got sent off for the hosts 5 minutes into the second half, giving us hope of getting back into the match. But with little more than 20 minutes remaining, Lens took the lead to 3! Benteke got a goal back for us before Patrick missed a penalty. Teixeira then scored 12 minutes from time, but we couldn't find an equalizer, as we fail to beat Kyiv for the first time since I've taken charge, taking them 6 attempts!
Ukrainian Cup action next, and Goverla led us for most of the game, until a Marko Marin free kick rescued a draw in stoppage time.
3rd placed Chornomorets gave us stern competition, but Benteke found a breakthrough on 62 minutes, running out 1-0 winners.
The Champions League Semi Final saw Barcelona come to Ukraine, in a game where they were outplayed, managing just 41% of possession! Bernard gave us a dream lead before we gave Messi the chance from the spot! Saved by Muslera, but Messi smashed the rebound into the net. 1-1! Patrick then showed Messi how to score from the spot, regaining our advantage. Suarez bought the game to 2-2 12 minutes from time, before Benteke looked to give us the victory in the 83rd minute. It wasn't to be though, Munir found the net 4 minutes into stoppage time to give the Spanish side the lead on away goals.
The second leg of the Ukrainian Cup Quarter Final was next, and again Goverla were ahead at half time. Second half Benteke pulled us back on track, before Patrick scored what proved to be the winner. After a tough battle, we progressed.
We set out to face Barcelona in Spain, and we went defensive, trying to catch them on the break. We were on the back foot as expected for most of it, but a minute into the second half, Martin Montoya saw red! This gave us hope and we chucked more and more men forward, desperate to steal a goal. Unfortunately our moment didn't come, and after a massive fight, we dropped out of the Champions League!
A long month was rounded off with the Ukrainian Cup Semi Final 1st Leg against Metalurg D, who we beat 5-1 at the start of the month. Marin gave us the advantage before Benteke doubled it before the break. A goal from Patrick gave us a 3-1 win!



With 1 game remaining this season, our defeat to Kyiv may prove crucial in the title race. We hold a 2 point gap, only needing a draw for the title. We've got a 1 game shootout now for the title! Desna have been relegated, scoring just 12 points this season, and only recording 2 wins!

The Run In



The 2nd leg against Metalug D poised no problems for us, with Stepanenko scoring in the first half, and Rakitskyi scoring in stoppage time at the end of the match.
4 days later we faced Dnipro in the Final. Benteke opened the scoring within 20 minutes, before Patrick confidently dispatched his chance from the spot to make it 2-0 before the break. Dnipro managed to get one back in the second half, though it was now more than a consolation for them. We had retained our cup!
Goverla were our final fixture of the season. Knowing a win would seal the title, we went out attacking from the off. Rakitskyi turned in a free kick early on, before Benteke and Marin made it 3-0. Benteke netted two more in the first half to complete his hat-trick, and our scoring for the season. An emphatic victory! With that, we retained our status as champions of Ukraine!



After a long, hard fought season, we won the league by just 2 points over Dynamo Kyiv. failing to win just 5 of our games, which were 2 draws and 3 defeats. We scored 75 goals in our 26 matches, and conceded just 18!



An award that was only going to Benteke this season after his return from injury, as he continued to find the net all season! An incredible performance, and a man we can rely on to bang in the goals!



We dominated the team of the year, with seven players included! I can't believe the leagues top goalscorer Benteke was left out!