Without a win so far in the UCL main phase this season, Rovers were desperate to leave their mark on the visiting Ukrainian side, but they almost found themselves behind within 60 seconds of kick-off.
The ball fell to Lucas Ferreira inside the penalty area, but his effort was blocked, while just minutes later the Brazilian would again come close, with a sprawling defender once again rescuing the Irish hosts.
The recently crowned League of Ireland champions would eventually fall behind midway through the first half when Kauã Elias peeled off his marker inside the area and swept home Vinicius Tobias’ cutback.
Chances came and went for Shakhtar duo Dmytro Kryskiv and Isaque Silva, but Edward McGinty pulled off a string of sharp saves to ensure the score stayed at 1-0 before the interval.
With the game still hanging in the balance, Rovers upped the ante at the beginning of the second half and were appealing for a penalty when Danny Grant was brought down by Shakhtar goalkeeper Kiril Fesiun.
It was a half shout at best, but Stephen Bradley’s side did create their best opportunity from the resulting corner, with Matthew Healy sending a stinging volley towards the top left corner, only for Fesiun to add to the home crowd’s frustrations with an outstretched save.
When the second goal eventually arrived, there was a gigantic slice of luck involved, as Yehor Nazaryna’s long-range free-kick took a hefty deflection and wrong-footed McGinty in the Rovers goal.
It looked as if it would squash any hopes of a comeback, but Rovers set up a grandstand finish when Connor Malley dinked over the head of Fesiun to reduce the arrears to one goal.
It proved too little too late though, with the Hoops now in need of a miracle across their final two UCL matches to secure progression into the knockouts.
Despite their underwhelming performances, Shakhtar are essentially confirmed a spot in the knockouts, with Turan’s men know eyeing up a spot in the coveted top eight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kauã Elias (Shakhtar Donetsk)