Former coach of "Metalist-1925", "Zorya" and "Bukovyna", former player of the national team of Ukraine and "Shakhtar" Valerii Kryventsov shared his impressions of the first league season and expectations for the playoff matches for the right to participate in the Ukrainian Championship 2025/2026.
Valerii Kryventsov— The two teams that qualified directly to the UPL — "Epitsentr" and "Poltava", ended up at the top absolutely deservedly. "Epitsentr" consistently went through the whole championship, had a very good striker in their squad — Danylo Kravchuk, who scored regularly and important goals. As for "Poltava", it is a powerful, athletic team that applied maximum pressing against opponents and also played quite steadily.
"Agrobusiness" started well, but it wasn’t enough for the long distance. "Metalist" had to play with youth due to the transfer ban, however, they demonstrated very attractive football. YKSA, like "Agrobusiness", started decently, but then there was a change of coach, which negatively affected the play in the spring part of the championship, and the same applies to "Bukovyna".
A pleasant surprise was the quality football performed by "Kudrivka" — attacking and stable — this is a very important indicator, in my opinion. Credit should be given to the head coach of "Kudrivka" Vasyl Baranov, who created a strong team.
The playoff for the right to participate in the UPL next season will be interesting. "Lviv Bereh" practices smart defensive football, which will be contrasted with the attacking style of "Metalist 1925". "Lviv Bereh" can take advantage of the free space in matches against the Kharkiv team. Counterattacks of the UPL club will be very dangerous. Therefore, in this pairing, I prefer "Lviv Bereh", but I will cheer for "Metalist 1925", where I worked for a long time and fruitfully.
As for the pair "Vorskla" — "Kudrivka", here the higher class of the Poltavans will prevail. The personnel potential of these teams differs significantly in favor of "Vorskla". In football, of course, there are sensations, but here, based on the results of two matches, "Vorskla" should retain its place in the UPL, — the expert is confident.
