Within the framework of the 13th round of the Ukrainian championship among youth teams, Kyiv’s "Dynamo" hosted Zhytomyr's "Polissya" at its suburban club base in Vitality-Lytovska.
Photo: fcdynamo.comU-19 Championship. 13th round
"Dynamo" - "Polissya" - 2:1 (1:1)
Goals: Ponomarenko (10), Kremchanin (57) - Kobyernyuk (28, penalty).
Yellow cards: Balaba (27), Salenko (45+2), Korobov (60), Osipenko (73), Ishchenko (75), D. Diky (80), Kremchanin (88), Surkis (90) - Kramar (43), Ananchenko (51), Ivanov (55), Gryshkevich (86).
Red cards: Ishchenko (77) - Gryshkevich (90+1).
"Dynamo": Surkis, Korobov, Balaba, Zakharchenko, D. Diky, Ishchenko, Salenko (Sizonyuk, 79), Osipenko (Bilyi, 90+3), Andreiko (Matkevych, 46), Redushko (Kremchanin, 39), Ponomarenko (Herych, 90).
"Polissya": Drobot, Mezentsev (Gryshkevich, 46), Kobyernyuk, M. Diky (Ananchenko, 46), Koval, Kovalenko, Kramar, Grokholskyi, Ivanov (Kulmaliiev, 62), Korzh (Hryshchenko, 68), Mykytuk.
The "white-blues" defeated Slovenian "Maribor" away mid-week, advancing to the third round of the UEFA Youth League Champions Path, and were in good spirits. However, there was little time for recovery and preparation for the national championship match against "Polissya", which gave the visitors an advantage in this aspect.
Nevertheless, from the beginning, Igor Kostiuk's players took control and, having squandered a few chances at the start of the match, quickly opened the scoring. In the 10th minute, Andreiko executed a corner from the right flank, and Ponomarenko directed the ball under the crossbar from the six-yard line - 1:0.
After scoring, the Dynamo players relaxed a bit, which was a mistake. Initially, the guests created a moment when after a corner kick from the right flank, Diky stopped the ball with his chest in a shot at the near corner. However, at the 27th minute, after a free kick in their own penalty area, Balaba carelessly handled the opponent, holding him with his hands around the body, and the referee awarded a penalty. And even though Surkis is a well-known master of saving penalties, this time Kobyernyuk executed an almost perfect shot from the 11-meter mark, directing the ball along a trajectory unreachable for the goalkeeper - 1:1.
Looking ahead, this shot remained the only one for the visiting team in the match. As for Dynamo, losing points was not part of their plans, considering the championship fight with "Shakhtar". But they failed to take the lead again before the break, although there were moments. In particular, Osipenko brought Ponomarenko face-to-face with the goalkeeper, but Matviy couldn't beat Drobot in close combat, and Ishchenko and Salenko failed to find the target from long range, while in another episode, the goalkeeper again handled a dangerous shot from Ponomarenko.
Following a similar scenario, with complete dominance from "Dynamo", the second half began. Salenko, in a promising position, couldn't deliver a focused shot, and Kremchanin shot over the goal from a free kick. However, soon Dmitriy made amends, responding to a cross from Korobov from the right flank and redirecting the ball into the net with a touch - 2:1. This goal marked the midfielder's 10th of the current season, and in terms of scoring, he caught up with Herych, who until that moment had been the solo top scorer of "white-blues" in the championship.
Igor Kostiuk's players continued to attack, understanding that a minimal advantage was quite precarious. However, the ball no longer wanted to enter the opponents' goal - Osipenko shot wide from a sharp angle, a dangerous shot from Ponomarenko was blocked by a defender, and Balaba's chance to rectify his own error with the penalty award was thwarted by the goalkeeper, who parried a dangerous shot.
It is worth noting that the end of the match was quite nerve-wracking, leading to 12 yellow cards and two red cards for both teams, and after the final whistle, the assistant coach of the youth team Oleh Venglynskiy also received a "yellow card". As for the score, it did not change anymore. So, 2:1 - a hard-fought victory for "Dynamo", allowing the "white-blues" to keep the Donetsk "Shakhtar" at bay.
