Alexandru Spiridon wins Ukrainian title with Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar Donetsk, the club managed by Romania's Mircea Lucescu and Moldova's Alexandru Spiridon, secured their fifth Ukrainian Premier League title as their 1:0 win over archrivals Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday gave them an unassailable six-point lead with one game to play.
The game's only goal was scored by Brazilian international Ilsinho in the 15th minute. Dynamo were unable to recover, with Jadson missing a penalty kick.
The result brings Shakhtar their fifth Ukrainian premiership title, alongside those won in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008, with the coaching duo Lucescu-Spiridon being credited with a big role in this success. This makes it the fourth title won by the Moldovan coach, who helped Shakhtar win the UEFA Cup last year.
For the fourth consecutive year, Metalist Kharkov, the club of the Moldovan player Vitalie Bordian, is about to finish third. At the same time, Zakarpattia, with three Moldovan in the squad, Vadim Bolohan, Igor Andronic and Serghei Alexeev, is condemned to relegation to the second Ukrainian division.
