The Fans went wild for the underdog story of the Shakhtar promotion

Where do we begin this story- perhaps looking at the previous seasons of Justice’s reign as the gaffer of Shakhtar Donetsk, where the club had been dwindling at the bottom of the table which resulted in the English manager having to be re-appointed three times previously by the T100 Panel Members, but they saw the build in transition, from a side that was essentially dying of old age in SM Terms left by the previous manager Andrew Achellios.

The ratings took a huge hit in the re-build as Donetsk began clearing out the ratings for youngsters, as they fell from Division-4 to Division-5, which was under the tenure of Justice by technicality, although the side were already well in the relegation battle when he arrived. the Ukrainian side actually not too long ago were in Division-3 with the ratings they had, but have spent the last 3 seasons in the bottom tier of the T100 pyramid, with their highest finish previously under Justice being 14th spot.

But, this season felt different and it simply was different for the inspiring Ukrainian side, as the campaign got off to a flyer and they kept that consistency of being in and around the play-off spots from GW-1 only dropping out of them on a few occasions.

The Hirnyky however went on to not only reach the play-offs but obtain the last spot of automatics promotion spots on the last day of the campaign when they drew with Russian side Rubin Kazan to ensure they bettered Boca Junior’s result who were occupying the 3rd-spot, as they were defeated by Olympiacos 3-2, and the celebrations were wild ones, as the struggling side turned it around into a promotion in quick time!

There has been only been a few changes in the season transfer wise compare to seasons gone by under Justice, but the deals worked a treat as the side is in a healthy position and has improved and is still a very young side, with only one experienced head added to the side in the form of veteran goalkeeper Vincente Guaita, who is still very much a regular in real life at Palace, whilst they have Arijanet Muric as a potential longer-term solution between the sticks. That said the marquee signing for the side was for sure Mathues Cunha, 23, 89, who literally arrived with 2 games to go, and grabbed a vital goal and assist for his side in GW-37! But going into the next season he will be a vital cog, and beyond that too…

It has been quite the journey for the club under Justice and he’s thoroughly enjoyed his 175 game stint back in T100 after a brief spell away between Villa his last club and the Ukrainian’s! He had this to say on the season and his time so far…

“Honestly, I’m so delighted to be here and to have managed to turn things around even against my very own expectations going into this season, and has shown the faith put by both the panel and club into the long-term plans here! Now… well, now, we must prepare for the tough season ahead in Division-4 and go again, we cannot be complacent at all…prep starts now!”

For sure next season will be a true test for the side sitting currently at 86 averaged rating in their starting XI…

Thanks for reading…