“Circus” in Rivne, Left Bank's second consecutive victory and anxiety in Kryvyi Rih: UPL Round 5 results

The victory of Oleksandriya over Kolos allowed it to maintain its leadership position, the "circus" in Rivne, where the referee awarded a penalty for violating the rules on the lawn, the second consecutive crushing victory of Rukh and staying in shelter for more than 4 hours in Kryvyi Rih because of an alarm - this is how the fifth round of the Ukrainian Premier League took place. UNN decided to tell you about the results, new achievements and what the next round of the UPL will be remembered for. 

Successful debut after Bartulovic's return and extension of Obolon's club record 

On Friday, the loser of the current UPL draw, Luhansk Zorya, which was led by the new-old coach Mladen Bartulovich this week after Yuriy Koval was fired, visited Obolon Arena. 

From the first minutes of the match, Obolon, which has not yet won in the current campaign, immediately rushed forward. In the second minute, they had a great chance, but the ball went over the top of the nine. "Pivovary looked decent, but it was Luhansk who scored the first goal of the match. In the 19th minute, Denys Antyukh crossed into the penalty area, Vladyslav Pryimak inaccurately knocked it directly to the foot of Petar Michin, who "put" the ball into the bottom corner of the goal with a billiard shot from outside the penalty area - 1: 0. 

In the second half, Pylyp Budkivsky, who returned to Zorya for the third time, scored his "debut" goal. Antyukh broke through the flank at speed, passed the ball and shot into the penalty area, where Budkivsky was unopposed, and he fired the ball into Fedorivsky's goal. 

The situation was complicated for Obolon by the sending off of Valeriy Dubko, who received a yellow card in 4 minutes and left the team in the minority in his 50th UPL match. "Zorya scored the third goal in the majority, which could have become the 800th goal in the UPL, but the referee canceled the goal. 

Zorya attacked until the end of the match, but failed to bring the score to a crushing result. The match ended with a 2-0 victory for the visitors. Luhansk extended Obolon's winless streak to 8 games. The last time Valerii Ivashchenko's team won in the Ukrainian Championship was on May 4 - against LNZ (1:0). 

"I congratulate my team on a very important victory. The game was against a tough opponent and in such a difficult weather. "Obolon plays a lot of long passes, creates pressure in the penalty area. We managed to cope with it. I liked our reaction, the beginning of the second half. We scored a goal. We calmed down the opponent after that," Bartulovich commented on his team's victory. 

Rukh smashes Ingulets and breaks their draw streak

In the second match on Friday, Rukh Vynnyky visited Ingulets Petrovo, who were unable to counter Vitaliy Ponomarev's team, as evidenced by the statistics - 10 shots by Rukh (9 on target) against 3 by Ingulets, none of them on target. 

In the 14th minute, the Yellow-Blacks played a great combination, bringing Ilya Kvasnytsia to the striking position, but his shot was saved by the post, but Yaroslav Karabin was the first to finish, who shot the Ingulets goal from close range, scoring in the second match in a row - 1: 0. 

In the first half, Rukh had a few more chances, but they really got going at the start of the second half and buried their opponents in 15 minutes. First, Ilya Kvasnytsia picked up the ball in front of Ingulets' penalty area and beat the goalkeeper with a powerful shot - 2: 0. 

In 4 minutes, Ihor Krasnopir took the ball perfectly in the penalty area, stretched it a bit and shot it past the goalkeeper - 3:0. 

In 6 minutes, Vitaliy Kholod made the score "obscene". Ostap Prytula sent a free kick directly to Kholod's head, who scored the fourth goal.

Four minutes later, Krasnopir scored a double. Kvasnytsia shot along the goalkeeper's area, where Krasnopir was the first to get on the ball - 5:0. 

"Rukh has already won its third victory in the current campaign, while Ingulets has not won a single one.

"We won a landslide victory, but I wouldn't say that this game was easy for us. The first half was quite difficult, as Ingulets put up a good fight. We managed to implement a lot of what we planned on the field, but there were moments when we failed. During the break, we had a men's talk in the locker room and the team started the second half well. We managed to score the second goal quickly. After that, Ingulets opened up, it was easier for us to attack and create chances. During this period, we outnumbered the opponent and realized our chances at the Ingulets goal," commented Rukh's head coach Vitaliy Ponomaryov. 

Without fans and with two goals 

On Saturday, Lviv's Karpaty visited Poltava's Vorskla. The match took place without fans in the stands, as there were too many fans at the stadium in the previous match against Dynamo, which is a violation of the current regulations. In addition, Karpaty were fined. 

The start of the match was left to the hosts, who actively combined and created chances at Vorskla's goal, which culminated in a goal in the 15th minute of the match. Ambrosiy Chachua fired into the penalty area, where Arthur Shah was quicker on the far post, closing the shot - 1: 0. 

"Karpaty could have doubled their lead at the end of the half, but Oleh Ocheretko's shot was deflected off the crossbar. Closer to the break, Vorskla recovered, and at the beginning of the second half, they won back the lead. 

Andrii Batsula sent a diagonal cross to the right flank of the Karpaty penalty area, Ilya Krupskyi headed the ball to the line of the goalkeeper's area, where Oleksandr Sklyar broke in and beat Vladyslav Baboglo - 1: 1.

Toward the end of the match, Vorskla attacked more and could even take the lead, but lacked a bit of accuracy. The match with great scoring chances from both teams ended in a draw - 1:1. 

"I went into the locker room after the match, and it was silent. I understand that my players are not happy with the result. We wanted more from this match. Now we are in the process of team building. Nine players left us, and new guys came to replace them. The atmosphere of confidence in our team is just being formed," commented Vorskla coach Serhiy Dolgansky on the result of the match. 

The head coach of the Carpathians, Vladyslav Lupashko, is also not satisfied with his team's performance.

"If we look at the first half, then, of course, the impression is not very positive. A team that is so dominant in the first half should not lose such a game. This concerns our physical fitness and psychology. We are taking steps forward, but I repeat - if we enter the game and have such an advantage, it means something. The guys can fulfill their tasks and understand their role on the football field. We must not let such matches go. We have to press the opponent and create more chances. But it happened as it happened," Lupashko said. 

Holding the lead and Kolos' anniversary away match spoiled

In the second match on Saturday, the relegation zone leader Kolos Kovalivka visited the championship leader Oleksandriya. For Kolos, the match in Oleksandriya was the 70th away game in the UPL. In previous cases with such round numbers, the Kovalivka team has won more often, including on the field of Oleksandriia four years ago. But this time, the Oleksandriya players were much more determined.

Ruslan Rotan's team managed to score early in the match. In the 15th minute, Oleksandriya used a 100% standard position - after a corner kick and a commotion in the penalty area, Oleksandriya captain Kyrylo Kovalets successfully chose his position and sent the ball into the net in two touches  - 1: 0.

The second half began with a series of substitutions for the visitors, which later bore fruit. But first came Oleksandriya's second goal. Oleksandr Martyniuk served a cross to the foot of Jevan Reisz, who was uncovered in the penalty area, and he had only to shoot the ball, which he did - 2-0. 

After just 2 minutes, Artem Husol, who came on as a substitute, scored one goal and reduced his team's deficit to 2-1. Husol became the youngest scorer of the Kovaliv club in the UPL and the first in the history of Kolos to score in the U-19 elite. 

However, this did not help the Kovaliv team to draw, they were unable to realize the created chances and lost potential points in this match. 

"It is always nice to win, but today we had some difficulties. We were afraid of that, that after the victory over Shakhtar we would be a little bit relaxed. But we started the game well, scoring a quick goal. The only thing I didn't like was that after we scored, we didn't continue to play aggressively in attack, to deliver the ball. Especially since we had a lot of space to run into. That was until the second goal. We noticed and said during the break that now we need to be more aggressive, deliver the ball into the penalty area more, use the space more," said Oleksandriya coach Ruslan Rotan. 

Defeat in Babych's jubilee match 

In the last match of Saturday, Chornomorets Odesa visited Zhytomyr's Polissya, which defeated the Seafarers in the 80th anniversary match of coach Oleksandr Babych. 

In the second minute of the match, Chornomorets failed to successfully knock the ball out near their goal and the "leather" flew to the Polissya forward, who, trying to control the ball, hit the hand of the Seafarers' defender. The referee awarded a penalty kick, which was converted by the hero of the previous round, Oleksandr Nazarenko, for a 1-0 win.

In just 5 minutes, Polissya managed to double the lead, which was a blow to Chornomorets, after which the team collapsed. The hero of the previous episode, Nazarenko, acted as an assistant for Paixao, who "shot" Rudko in the touch - 2: 0. 

In the 35th minute, after reviewing VAR, the referee awarded a penalty kick to Chornomorets for the second time. Artur Rudko guessed the direction of Toledo Costa's shot, but Oleksiy Hutsulyak was the first to finish, bringing the score to an obscene 3-0. 

At the end of the first half, Chornomorets veteran and captain Bohdan Butko scored a great shot that helped the Sailors open the scoring in this match, but unfortunately, it was the first and only goal for Odesa. Ivan Petriak passed the ball to Butko on the opposite flank, the latter handled the ball, put it under his left non-working foot, and from 25 meters scored exactly in the back nine - 3: 1.

Despite all the efforts to reduce the deficit to a minimum, Chornomorets scored the fourth goal at the end of the match. 

Paixao fired twice at Rudko's goal, but the Chornomorets defenders got in the way. However, the ball still bounced to the foot of Bohdan Lednev, who scored from a few meters away - 4:1. 

"It is very difficult to comment on anything. The defeat is very painful. It's a shame for a team like Polissia to give such gifts from the very beginning of the match. I believe that in previous minimal defeats we did not "bring" ourselves such moments, but what happened today is a little strange," commented Chornomorets coach Oleksandr Babych. 

"Again we have a significant difference between the halves. Again we give a lot to impose our game, to try to dominate the way we want to. And again in the second half we try to dominate when we are suffering. We want to remove this second part over time, but it takes time," Polissia coach Imad Shur told reporters after the match. Imad Ashour. 

Unrealized "funny" penalty, canceled goals and the second consecutive victory of "Left Bank" 

On Sunday, Kyiv's Left Bank visited Rivne for a match with Veres. Both teams won their first league victories a week ago. The players on the field gave a very bright show that could not leave the audience indifferent, because the match had two canceled goals, a "left" penalty that was not realized. 

In the 8th minute, Veres managed to score, but the referee canceled the goal due to offside. In 7 minutes, Veres scored again, and this time the goal was counted. After a shot by Vladyslav Sharay, the goalkeeper of the capital's club failed to successfully control the ball, which flew exactly to the foot of Ruslan Stepanyuk, who shot the goalkeeper - 1: 0. 

After 10 minutes, Veres scored again, but the referee again canceled the goal because of a handball. Another 10 minutes later, an episode occurred that will be discussed for a long time in the football community. Veres' forward Stepaniuk missed the ball in the visitors' penalty area and kicked the ball on the lawn. The referee saw a violation of the rules in this episode. I wonder if the referee included a yellow card for the lawn for the foul." 

The head referee awarded a penalty kick, but karma was at work. Mykola Haiduchyk slipped before the kick and took a bad shot, hitting the crossbar. 

Such total bad luck resulted in goals scored by the Left Bank. After the break, Vitaliy Pervak's team looked more convincing, and after the substitutions, they started scoring.

In the 67th minute, Taras Halas made a pass to Klim Prykhodko, who twisted the defender and scored in the far corner - 1-1. In the 81st minute, Prykhodko thanked Halas with a delicate pass, which went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and scored a powerful shot over the hands of Andriy Kozhukhar. 

At the end of the match, Left Bank was awarded an 11-meter penalty kick, which Ruslan Dedukh successfully converted, setting the final score at 3-1.

"I have only positive emotions. We won the game. Although the first half was poor. We seemed to be tempting fate, missing the opponent's attacks. That's why we had only negative emotions before the break. Then we went into the locker room, had a good talk and turned the game upside down on character. A score of 0-1 does not mean anything. You can lose to any team by one goal and turn the game around. That's what I told the guys. If it had been 0-2, of course, it would have been much harder for us. But we managed to equalize, took the lead, and brought the game to victory," said Vitaliy Pervak, coach of Left Bank, after the strong-willed victory. 

The first away defeat in the new season and approaching the record

In the second match on Sunday, Cherkasy's LNZ visited Dynamo Kyiv. Before this match, the teams were second in the table. LNZ played the previous four rounds at home in Cherkasy and scored 9 points out of 12 possible. But the first outing of the 2024/25 season for Andres Carrasco's men ended in defeat in Kyiv.

Kyiv, on the other hand, played their first home match in the UPL this season and continued their winning ways, albeit with a minimal score. 

In the 22nd minute, Kyiv captain Andriy Yarmolenko opened the scoring from the penalty spot, scoring his 109th goal in the UPL. The absolute record holder of the championship, Maksym Shatskyi, is only 15 goals away. 

In 4 minutes, the same Yarmolenko scored the second goal, but the referee canceled the goal due to offside from Vladyslav Vanat. 

"LNZ had almost no chances in this match, as evidenced by their shot statistics - only 3 shots for LNZ against 18 for Dynamo, but Kyiv failed to double their lead, although they had their own chances. Perhaps the fatigue after the Champions League match against Salzburg was a factor. "Some couldn't, others didn't want to" - that's how you can describe this match. 

"I congratulate all Dynamo fans on the victory. It was a difficult match. We understood perfectly well what the game would be like. I felt it, to be honest. After the Champions League qualifiers and the playoffs, traveling, logistics, I prepared my guys for a difficult game," said Dynamo coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi after the match. 

Interrupted match and what the damn Russians have to do with it

The final match of the round was almost played by Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih and Shakhtar Donetsk. The match was remembered not for its goals but for its worries. In the 40th minute, Shakhtar's captain Taras Stepanenko put his team ahead on a pass from Heorhiy Sudakov. 

Within 10 minutes, the match was interrupted due to an air raid alert in the region. During the emergency vote, Shakhtar's representative was in favor of waiting until the last minute and playing the match yesterday, but the alert in Kryvyi Rih was canceled at 22:12, and the next one started at 22:25. According to the TaToTake portal, due to Shakhtar's tight Champions League schedule, as well as the UEFA and FIFA windows for national team matches, it is almost impossible to find a free date to play the game in the fall. The match postponed due to yesterday's alarm will be played in the spring of 2025. 

"We already have experience of postponing matches, and when we sat for 6 hours during the alarm. We understand that the difficult situation in the country and frontline cities are always at risk. And if they decide that we don't have to play the game... Of course, we wanted to finish the game on emotion, but Kryvyi Rih is not easy to get to. We are a little disappointed, we wanted to finish the game. There was a curfew until 11 p.m., they said that maybe they would extend it a little bit, but, as I understand it, there is still anxiety there," said Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko. 

Shakhtar players in the shelter

Preliminary results

The championship is on a two-week break due to national team games, so we can summarize the first results. Probably, no one expected to see such leaders of the UPL, because outright average players who did not grab stars from the sky made it to the top three.

For example, last season, after 5 rounds, Oleksandriya ranked only 7th, and in the current draw, it is first. Probably, Ruslan Rotan, who simultaneously coached the junior national team of Ukraine, was able to fully concentrate on coaching at the club, which may explain the quality of his wards' performances. 

"Polissia, which finished third last season, is second in the current draw. Before the start of the season, Zhytomyr strengthened their squad with Dnipro-1 players, which paid off. Wolves' forward Oleksandr Nazarenko has already scored 5 goals and given 1 assist in the current campaign. Moreover, last season Nazarenko scored only three goals in the entire championship. Such performances can be attributed to the "reunion" with Oleksiy Hutsulyak, as both once played for Dnipro-1 and understand each other well. 

Rukh also shows not only top results, but also goals scored, of which they have already scored 13 in the current draw. Last season, the Lviv team had only 8 goals by the 5th round. Before the start of the season, Rukh was strengthened by Obolon forward Ihor Krasnopir, who has already scored 4 goals. Head coach Serhiy Rebrov should keep an eye on the young talent. Another Rukh forward, Ilya Kvasnytsia, who scored 3 goals and provided two assists in four matches, is also worth noting. In general, Rukh has the youngest team in the UPL - the average age of the players is 22.2 years. The team's head coach Vitaliy Ponomaryov managed to find an approach to the young players and awaken their sportsmanship.

Probably, no one expected to see Shakhtar in the middle of the table, as well as such weak performances by Obolon and Kolos, who scored only 3 points each in 5 rounds, as the Brewers were in 12th place last season and Kovalivka in 6th