This weekend, matches of the 4th round of the Ukrainian Championship for the 2025/26 season are taking place. One of them saw Kyiv’s "Dynamo" face Zhytomyr’s "Polesie" on Sunday, August 31. The match took place in the capital at the "Dynamo" stadium named after Valery Lobanovsky.
Photo — Oksana VasilievaUkrainian Championship. Round 4
"DYNAMO (Kyiv) — "POLESIE" (Zhytomyr) — 4:1 (4:1)
Goals: Guerrero (19), Bulyalsky (32 pen., 44), Voloshin (50) — Tohmer (7)
Warnings: Bilovar (73) - Andriyevskyi (2), Babenko (57)
"Dynamo": 35.Neshcheret — 20.Karavaev (44.Dubinchak, 79), 40.Bilovar, 32.Mikhavko, 2.Vivcharenko — 5.Yatsyk, 91.Mykhailenko (6.Brazhko, 9) — 9.Voloshin, 29.Bulyalsky (C) (8.Pikhalenok, 79), 22.Kabaev (7.Yarmolenko, 71) — 39.Guerrero (99.Ponomarenko, 71).
Substitutes: 51.Morhun, 74.Ignatenko, 10.Shaparenko, 34.Zakharchenko, 45.Bragaru.
"Polesie": 1.Kudryk, 4.Kravchenko, 44.Chobotенко, 5.Sarapiy (13.Beskorovainyi, 65), 15.Mykyta Mikhailychenko (58.Korniychuk, 58), 8.Babenko (C), 18.Andriyevskyi, 10.Tohmer (22.Veletin, 58), 11.Hutsulyak, 7.Nazarenko (9.Filippov, 72), 89.Haiduchik (6.Talles, 58).
Substitutes: 23.Volynets, 99.Ulihanets, 2.Khadroi, 19.Shepelev, 30.Lednev, 34.Viale, 38.Karaman.
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The match started disastrously for "Dynamo". Firstly, right at the 7th minute of the game, Alexander Shovkovskyi’s team conceded. The guests skillfully played the ball after a throw-in on the left wing, Nazarenko crossed to the far post, where Hutsulyak easily won an aerial duel, made a header to Tohmer, and he, just a couple of meters from the net, easily finished this combination — 0:1. Secondly, two minutes after conceding, "Dynamo" had to make a forced substitution: Mykhailenko was replaced by Brazhko.
However, "Dynamo" equalized very quickly. In the 19th minute, Kudryk, executing a goal kick, underestimated Guerrero’s presence nearby, and Guerrero managed to intercept the ball, control it, and then send it into the net — 1:1. Just two minutes later, Neshcheret saved "Dynamo", parrying a dangerous shot from Hutsulyak from within the penalty area.
From that point on, the game was evenly contested, but in the 31st minute, "Polesie" found itself in trouble again in a seemingly harmless situation. This time, Chobotенко pushed Voloshin from behind in his penalty area, and the referee unhesitatingly awarded a penalty which Bulyalsky confidently converted — 2:1.
The next segment of the match saw both teams play without goal-scoring opportunities, but the end of the half turned bright. First, "Polesie" had a dangerous moment: after a corner, Chobotенко headed the ball toward the far corner from the near post, and the ball barely skimmed the post. However, "Dynamo" did not miss their opportunity in the 44th minute: Guerrero initiated a counterattack through the central zone, passed right to Voloshin, who then delivered an excellent cross to Bulyalsky, and he struck the ball perfectly from about 12 meters directly into the bottom corner of "Polesie’s" goal — 3:1. The Dynamo could have secured a fourth goal before halftime: Guerrero, on the run, outpaced Chobotенко, took the ball from him, and found himself one-on-one with Kudryk, but he shot straight at him.
However, just at the start of the second half, "Dynamo" increased the score to 4:1 - this time Voloshin ran with the ball across half the field along the right flank, burst into the penalty area, and despite the sharp angle to the goal, managed to slot the ball into the net.
After that, "Dynamo", in general, played confidently with the score, and "Polesie" was practically unable to mount any attack. This segment of the match passed without urgency, but in the 80th minute, the Kyiv team came very close to making the score embarrassing - Voloshin attempted a shot from about 28 meters, and the ball hit the crossbar of Kudryk’s goal.
Now the Ukrainian Championship will take a two-week break for international matches. In the next, 5th round, "Dynamo" awaits a nominally away match against Kyiv’s "Obolon". It will take place on Saturday, September 13, in the capital at "Obolon Arena" (kick-off — at 15:30).
Oleksandr POPOV
