By Alessandro Schiavone in Alkmaar
Conference League QF second-leg
AZ Alkmaar 2-2 Shakhtar Donetsk (2-5 on agg)
Shakhtar Donetsk made it a 5-2 aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar's B team to set up a date with Crystal Palace in the semis of the Conference League.
With the KNVB Cup final looming and the chance to end a 13-year wait for silverware when they face NEC Nijmegen on Sunday, AZ manager Leeroy Echteld decided to rest eight players.
Yet despite being played off the ground for an hour, his players didn’t go down without a fight and came from behind to take a fleeting lead before Luca Meirelles dashed the Dutchmen’s faint hopes once and for all.
Talented Brazilian winger Alisson Santana’s composed low finish inside the box just before the hour was a kick in the teeth for any far-fetched AZ hopes.
Alkmaar, who crashed out against West Ham in this competition three years ago before they were dealt another London blow my Tottenham Hotspur last term, dug deep and found the breakthrough through Isak Jensen’s direct free-kick in off the post. Matej Sin’s fine volley then completed the turnaround with little less over 10 minutes to play. Game on? Far from it... as Luca Meirelles buried his one-on-one with the keeper. Yet deep into stoppage-time the hosts' keeper Jeroen Zoet took his revenge by making an outstanding save to salvage the draw.
Palace will have their work cut out defending against the likes of Alisson, Newertton, Pedro Henrique, Luca Meirelles and Elias whose pace, surging runs forward intensity and combinational play make the Ukrainians a difficult side to decipher. Yet they also concede lots of spaces in behind for the south Londoners to exploit. And Mateta will surely fancy his aerial battles with the robust Ukrainian defenders lining up at the back. The first leg takes place in Lviv in two weeks' time.
Should the Eagles make the final (against either Strasbourg or Rayo Vallecano) and win this third-tier competition they will get a second bite at the Europa League cherry after being excluded by UEFA over multi-ownership last summer [a decision the Court of Arbitration refused to overturn]. All while having one season of European football under their belt and a third trophy in their cabinet.
And let's be honest... just what a revenge it would be if the Eagles killed two birds with one stone.