This weekend, the matches of the 19th round of the current Ukrainian championship are taking place. In one of them on Friday, February 28, Poltava's "Vorskla" met Kyiv's "Dynamo". The match was nominally home for Vorskla, but due to the condition of the field in Poltava, it was held in Kyiv at the Dynamo Stadium named after Valery Lobanovsky.
Ukrainian Championship. 19th round
"VORSKLA" (Poltava) — "DYNAMO" (Kyiv) — 1:1 (0:1)
Goals: Sklyar (64) — Buialskyi (16)
Warnings: Diachuk (85) — Avdyli (28), Chelyadin (38), Sklyar (52), Salabai (87), Ostrovskyi (87)
Red cards: Ostrovskyi (90, second warning)
"Dynamo": 35.Neshcheret — 18.Tymchik, 25.Diachuk, 32.Mikhavko, 2.Vyvcharenko (44.Dubinchak, 46) — 76.Pikhalenok (6.Brazhko, 61), 91.Mykhailenko — 7.Yarmolenko (45.Brahariu, 84), 29.Buialskyi (C) (10.Shaparenko, 72), 22.Kabaev (9.Voloshin, 61) — 11.Vanat.
Substitutes: 51.Morhun, 74.Ignatenko, 10.Shaparenko, 15.Rubchynskyi, 20.Karavaev, 33.Salenko, 39.Gerrero, 40.Bilovar.
"Vorskla": 7.Isenko, 4.Perduhta (C), 6.Sklyar, 8.Avdyli (77.Iede, 56), 10.Kulach (80.Ndukve, 63), 11.Kane (33.Miakushko, 56), 17.Salabai, 18.Pavliuk, 27.Krupskyi, 29.Batsula, 38.Chelyadin (43.Ostrovskyi, 80).
Substitutes: 61.Domoleha, 3.Fernan, 25.Huchek, 30.Nesterенко, 44.Khripchuk.
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"Dynamo" attempted to push the game closer to the opponent's goal with the starting whistle, but it was not that easy: "Vorskla" defended compactly and constantly pressed. Nevertheless, already in the 16th minute, the Kyivans opened the scoring by converting their first goal chance: Diachuk with a brilliant through pass from the center circle put Buialskyi one-on-one with Isenko, and the Dynamo captain did not miss his chance, sending the ball between the legs of the Poltava team's goalkeeper — 0:1!
However, almost immediately after that, "Vorskla" was maximally close to equalizing — it was Kulach in the 20th minute of the match who headed the ball from the goal line, finishing off a cross from Krupskyi, and the ball hit the crossbar of "Dynamo"'s goal. Four minutes later, Avdyli took a shot from the right side of the penalty area of the Kyivans, and the ball flew a half-meter from the far post of Neshcheret’s goal. Finally, in the 27th minute of the match, Pavliuk headed the ball from about 10 meters precisely under the crossbar — this time, the "white-blue" were saved by Neshcheret.
"Dynamo" responded to all these attacks of the opponent only in the 35th minute when Kabaev finished his team’s attack with a fierce shot from the left side of the penalty area, and the ball barely grazed the far post. Later, Buialskyi made a good header from about 10 meters, but was also a bit inaccurate. In the end, the teams went to the break with a score of 1:0 in favor of the Kyivans.
The second half saw "Vorskla" start very actively and aggressively, which eventually resulted in a goal: in the 64th minute of the match, Krupskyi crossed from the right flank, in the "Dynamo" penalty area, Sklyar won the duel against Brazhko and headed the ball into the goal of Neshcheret — 1:1.
After conceding a goal, "Dynamo" predictably rushed to equalize, but "Vorskla" was not about to give up its attacking activity. So the match continued with an equal fight on the field. And almost without chances. For "Dynamo", there was a notable long shot from Voloshin — next to the post; and a shot from the penalty area by Mykhailenko — over the crossbar. However, "Vorskla" came very close to snatching victory: in the 86th minute, Salabai with a header literally shot from a few meters, and "Dynamo" was saved only by Neshcheret's brilliant reflexes. As a result, the match ended in a draw, 1:1.
After this result, "Dynamo" continues to lead the standings of the Ukrainian championship alone, ahead of second-place "Oleksandriya" by 6 points, but having played one match more.
In the next round, "Dynamo" faces an away match against Cherkasy's LNZ, which will take place next Thursday, March 6, in Cherkasy at the "Cherkasy Arena" stadium (kick-off at 15:30).
Alexander POPOV from the "Dynamo" stadium named after Valery Lobanovsky