This weekend, the matches of the 17th round of the current Ukrainian championship took place, which concluded the tournament program for 2024. In one of them, on Monday, December 16, Kyiv’s “Dynamo” faced Rivne’s “Veres”. The match was held in Kyiv at the “Dynamo” Stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Photo — Oksana VasylievaUkrainian Championship. 17th Round
“DYNAMO” (Kyiv) – “VERES” (Rivne) – 1:0 (1:0)
Goal: Vanat (23)
Warnings: Goncharenko (61)
“Dynamo”: 1.Bushchan – 24.Tymchyk (20.Karavaev, 74), 4.Popov, 3.Dyachuk, 2.Vyvcharenko – 76.Pikhalenok (18.Andriievskyi, 83), 91.Mykhailenko – 9.Voloshyn, 29.Buialskyi (C) (15.Rubchynskyi, 74), 22.Kabaiev – 11.Vanat.
Substitutes: 35.Neshcheret, 51.Morhun, 8.Shepelev, 23.Malysh, 33.Salenko, 39.Herrero, 40.Bilovar, 44.Dubinchak, 45.Brahariu.
“Veres”: 23.Kozhukhar, 17.Protasievych, 33.Honcharenko, 3.Vovchenko, 95.Shevchenko, 29.Kucherov (87.Mrvlyevich, 90+2), 10.Klyots, 99.Luan (90.Nongo, 90+2), 11.Dakhnovskyi (77.Shara, 72), 7.Stepaniuk (C), 89.Haiduchyk (8.Hodia, 72).
Substitutes: 1.Yushchishin, 47.Kohut, 2.Smiyian, 6.Kutsiya, 22.Baranych, 44.Checher, 57.Melnyk.
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With the starting whistle, “Veres” organized itself entirely in its half of the field, and “Dynamo” thus began to lead the game as the primary team. However, this positional advantage for Kyiv did not lead to sharpness near the visitors' goal in the early stages of the match. The only noteworthy moment was a long shot from Tymchyk, after which the ball deflected off a “Veres” player, changed trajectory, flew straight into the lower corner of the goal, and Kozhukhar had to work hard to deflect it out for a corner.
However, in the middle of the half, “Dynamo” managed to open the scoring by executing one of its “home setups” during a free kick: Pikhalenok, instead of the expected shot, rolled the ball slightly back to Buialskyi, who delivered a precise pass into the “Veres” penalty area to Vanat, who struck immediately from close range, leaving Kozhukhar no chance – 1:0.
After conceding a goal, “Veres” predictably reorganized and began to look for their chances in attack, but “Dynamo” continued to control the game completely. However, the visitors did create one dangerous moment in this segment of the match: in the 40th minute, after a corner kick, Luan managed to direct the ball past Bushchan, and Kyiv was saved by Vyvcharenko, who played literally on the goal line to support his goalkeeper. As a result, the first half ended with a score of 1:0.
The second half of the match started with a dangerous moment at “Dynamo”’s goal: a counterattack by “Veres” ended with a powerful shot from Luan from the right side of the penalty area, and Bushchan didn't risk catching the ball in his hands. In the 58th minute, after a diagonal cross from Klyots, Haiduchyk headed the ball from about six meters and it barely grazed the post of Kyiv's goal.
However, despite these episodes, the game, as in the first half, was under the full control of “Dynamo”. And in the 62nd minute, the "white and blue" were close to increasing the score – Popov headed the ball from a corner kick and this time it flew just inches from the post of the “Veres” goal. The guests responded with a shot from Stepaniuk from about 14 meters – Bushchan played reliably. However, Kozhukhar soon faced a similar shot from Vyvcharenko.
The score could have changed for the last time in the 88th minute of the match when Popov, after a corner kick, headed the ball on target, but Kozhukhar demonstrated excellent reflexes and saved “Veres”. As a result, 1:0 – a victory for “Dynamo”.
After this result, “Dynamo” continues to lead the Ukrainian championship standings alone, ahead of second-placed “Oleksandriya” by five points.
Now the Ukrainian championship will take a winter break. The tournament will resume on February 22, 2025 – this is the base day of the 18th round, in which “Dynamo” awaits a home match against Lviv's “Karpaty”.
Alexander POPOV from the “Dynamo” Stadium named after Valeriy Lobanovskyi
