JOIN USIlsinho carries Shakhtar to final
Brazilian Ilsinho grabbed a superb late winner to put Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup final with a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev on Thursday.
Shakhtar, who won 3-2 on aggregate after the second leg of the semifinal, became the first Ukrainian team to reach the final.
Ilsinho's fellow Brazilian Jadson put Shakhtar ahead after 17 minutes in Donetsk with a fine shot into the top corner from the edge of the box as Dynamo's defence failed to clear a cross from the right by the home team's Croatian captain Darijo Srna.
Dynamo's heads dropped after the goal and Shakhtar dominated possession.
The Kiev side's Guinea striker Ismael Bangoura equalised within two minutes with a slick goal from just outside the area having been put through by playmaker Olexandr Aliyev.
However, with the match heading towards extra time, Ilsinho raced on to a long punt out of defence, rounded two defenders on the right and placed a perfect left-foot shot out of the reach of keeper Stanislav Bogush into the far corner for the winner.
Werder in final
In another semifnal encounter, Werder Bremen stormed into their first UEFA Cup final after scoring two second-half goals to win 3-2 at Hamburg SV.
Werder will be without inspirational playmaker Diego and striker Hugo Almeida in the final after they were booked.
Werder went ahead in the 12th minute through Ivica Olic before Brazilian Diego levelled before the half-hour.
Claudio Pizarro and Frank Baumann then scored in the final 24 minutes with Olic pulling one back three minutes from time.
Werder squandered a big chance early in the first half when Peru striker Pizarro shook off defender Joris Mathijsen but saw his bouncing header fly over the bar.
As Werder's players shook their heads in disbelief over the miss, Mathijsen quickly fed Olic down the middle and he raced into the box to chip over goalkeeper Tim Wiese.
Werder levelled in the 29th after some quick passing between Pizarro and midfielder Diego, with the Brazilian beating keeper Frank Rost from close range.
But two minutes later he was booked for a verbal dispute with fellow Brazilian Alex Silva of Hamburg.
Werder struck six minutes later when Pizarro's long range effort slipped past Rost and their captain Baumann then headed in a corner seven minutes from time to make it 3-1.
The fate of the match was more or less sealed with that goal, but Hamburg fought on despite the huge task in front of them, managin to score one more before final whistle.
Olic's second goal, three minutes from time, was too late to save the tie for luckless Hamburg, who also lost to Werder on penalties in the German Cup semifinal last month.