Shakhtar Donetsk reach Conference League last 16 after draw with Rijeka
Shakhtar Donetsk have secured a place in the UEFA Conference League round of 16 after playing out a goalless draw with HNK Rijeka at the Stadion Miejski im. Henryk Reymana in Poland. The result was enough for the Ukrainian side to progress directly, while Rijeka were left to continue their campaign in the knockout play off round.
Shakhtar began the match with positive intent and created a few early openings. One of the best chances came in the eighth minute when Oleh Ocheretko struck a dangerous effort that forced goalkeeper Martin Zlomislic into a sharp save, tipping the ball around the post. Despite that bright start, the remainder of the first half lacked quality, with both teams struggling to create anything meaningful in the final third.
Rijeka showed more urgency shortly after the restart and were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead. A poor pass from Shakhtar goalkeeper Kiril Fesyun fell kindly to Daniel Adu Adjei, but the forward failed to make the most of the chance and wasted the opening.
As the half went on, the tempo dropped once again, and the match settled into a scrappy contest where both defences stayed largely untroubled. Clear chances were few and far between as the game drifted toward a stalemate.
Late on, Shakhtar came closest to breaking the deadlock. With just minutes remaining, a well delivered cross from the right found Eguinaldo inside the penalty area, but his header narrowly missed the target. By full time, Rijeka coach Víctor Sánchez would have been frustrated that his side failed to register a single shot on target in the second half.
The draw extended Shakhtar Donetsk’s unbeaten run to ten matches across all competitions. Arda Turan’s team will now wait to learn their opponent in the round of 16 once the knockout play off fixtures are completed.
For Rijeka, the result still carried positives, as it stretched their own unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches, keeping their European hopes alive through the play offs.
