This weekend, matches of the 16th round of the Ukrainian Championship for the 2024/25 season are taking place. In one of them on Sunday, December 8, Kyiv "Dynamo" faced "Alexandria". The match took place in Kyiv at the Valery Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium.
Photo — Oksana VasilievaUkrainian Championship. 16th round
“DYNAMO” (Kyiv) — “ALEXANDRIA” (Alexandria) — 3:0 (2:0)
Goals: Popov (36), Vanat (42, 55)
Warnings: Campos (54)
“Dynamo”: 1.Bushchan — 24.Tymchyk, 4.Popov, 32.Mikhavko (3.Dyachuk, 83), 2.Vyvcharenko — 6.Brazhko, 91.Mykhailenko — 9.Voloshyn (20.Karavaev, 72), 29.Buyalsky (C) (15.Rubchynskyi, 83), 22.Kabaiev (44.Dubinchak, 78) — 11.Vanat (39.Gerrero, 72).
Substitutes: 35.Neshcheret, 10.Shaparenko, 18.Andriievskyi, 23.Malysh, 40.Bilovar, 45.Brahary, 76.Pykhalionok.
“Alexandria”: 44.Yermakov, 4.Kravchenko (22.Skorko, 90), 5.Kaliuzhnyi, 6.Kovalets (C) (71.Shostak, 77), 9.Filipov (10.Kulakov, 70), 15.Mishnev (20.Vashchenko, 70), 21.Belyaev (59.Kozak, 46), 24.Martyniuk, 26.Campos, 31.Shabanov, 33.Bezerra.
Substitutes: 72.Makarenko, 77.Shevchenko, 8.Kostyshyn, 18.Lohinov, 19.Plaksa, 30.Kopina, 88.Pohorelyi.
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Both "Dynamo" and "Alexandria" started this match as aggressively and intensively as possible, employing high pressing. So the game in its debut phase was played without the midfield. However, there was also a lack of actual danger. In this segment of the match, only Tymchyk's shot from the right side of the penalty area can be noted, after which the ball flew over the crossbar.
"Alexandria" only responded in the 23rd minute, with a shot from Bezerra from about 20 meters — next to the post. Seven minutes later, Bezerra took another long-range shot, and this time the ball nearly grazed the post of Bushchan's goal.
Overall, the first half went by without scoring chances, but there were goals nonetheless. The first goal came in the 36th minute when, following a corner kick, Popov brilliantly jumped up and headed the ball into the net from the goal line — 1:0.
The goal clearly boosted the mood of the Dynamo players. They were able to shift the game to the guests' half of the field. This ended with the score doubling in the 42nd minute — it was Vanat who received a pass on the right flank, took the play into his own hands, burst into the penalty area, and with a shot from about 14 meters directed the ball precisely into the far bottom corner of "Alexandria's" goal — 2:0. And it was with this score that the first half ended.
Despite a comfortable lead, "Dynamo" continued to display attacking football after the break and even scored a third goal in the early minutes of the second half, but it was disallowed for offside. However, "Alexandria" also showed that they were not planning to give up. In the 53rd minute, the guests were close to success: Kaliuzhnyi delivered an excellent slicing pass that put Kovalets one-on-one with Bushchan, but the Dynamo goalkeeper played brilliantly — he came out of the goal just in time, and then managed to parry the opponent's shot with his feet.
It seemed that the intrigue in this match was still alive. But in the 55th minute, it was "killed" by the Dynamo players: Kabaiev broke through on the left flank, returned the ball back from the touchline to Vanat, who with a shot from about the angle of the penalty area hit the far corner of "Alexandria's" goal — 3:0.
And two minutes after that, the game was interrupted due to an air raid alert in Kyiv, which lasted half an hour in the end. After that, the teams warmed up for ten minutes, and only then was the game resumed.
In the final segment of the match, "Dynamo" found itself defending more, but this did not lead to any sharp chances near Bushchan's goal. Overall, the Kyiv team controlled the course of the game. "Alexandria," of course, tried to score at least a consolation goal, but the "white-blues" defended almost flawlessly. Moreover, the Dynamo players could extend the score to a rout when Guerrero lacked mere moments to finish off a cross from Karavaev at the far post. As a result, the match ended with a crushing score in favor of Alexander Shovkovsky's team — 3:0.
After this result, "Dynamo" moved to a clean first place in the standings of the Ukrainian Championship, outpacing second-placed "Alexandria" by three points.
In the next, 17th round of the UPL, "Dynamo" awaits a home match with Rovno's "Veres". This match will take place on Sunday, December 15, in Kyiv at the Valery Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium (kickoff — at 18:00).
Alexander POPOV from the Dynamo Stadium named after Valery Lobanovsky
