Crystal Palace fans are chanting about going to Germany. This comes after Shakhtar Donetsk equalised to give themselves some hope.
Mateta’s Near Miss and Shakhtar’s Pressure
Jean-Philippe Mateta almost scored a stunning goal for Crystal Palace. The French striker met a cross from the right with an acrobatic overhead kick, but it hit the advertising board just wide of the goal.
Shakhtar Donetsk are piling on the pressure. They won another corner kick as the first half neared its end at Selhurst Park.
A Shakhtar Donetsk corner was fired in towards the near post. It hit Jean-Philippe Mateta as the Crystal Palace striker tried to clear the danger. The Ukrainian side wanted a penalty, but the referee waved away the protest.
Crystal Palace were struggling to get out of their half. Oliver Glasner would have hoped his team could survive the remainder of the half without further damage.
Ismaila Sarr tried his luck from outside the box, but couldn’t find the target. The Crystal Palace top scorer has now attempted 41 shots in the Conference League – more than any other player in the competition this season.
Donetsk Pull One Back
Shakhtar Donetsk pulled one back with a brilliant finish from Eguinaldo. He received the ball at the edge of the box and placed it into the top corner. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson did not move an inch.
Lucy Ward said it was a reminder to Palace that it probably won’t be as easy as they thought. She described it as a lovely goal, noting the placement into the goal.
Shakhtar Donetsk have had 80% possession over the last 15 minutes. However, Crystal Palace have made their chances count.
Palace Fans Dream of Europe
The opening goal lifted the noise levels around Selhurst Park. The Palace flags were flying, and their fans could dare to dream of a trip to Leipzig.
It looks like Crystal Palace are going to be facing Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final. Brazilian forward Alemao has found the back of the net against Strasbourg for the second time in a week to put the La Liga side two goals ahead on aggregate.
Wharton is very classy and in my opinion should be a nailed on starter for england. He is better than Anderson and just what England needs. Class.