The battle for the top spot is intensifying: results from Matchday 18 of the UPL.
"Dynamo" remains at the top of the table, holding a 5-point advantage over their closest rival. "Shakhtar" and "Alexandria" secured hard-fought victories and continue their chase of the Kyiv team. Following their win against "Vorskla," "Obolon" climbed higher in the standings, while the Poltava team found themselves in the relegation zone. "Inhulets" remains the worst team in the league, sitting at the bottom in 16th place with only 9 points to their name. UNN reports on the results of the 18th round of the Ukrainian Premier League, highlighting new achievements and memorable moments from the latest round of the UPL.
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"Chornomorets" moves away from the bottom
The first match after the winter break took place in Kovalivka, Kyiv region, where local "Koloss" hosted Odesa's "Chornomorets." The "Odessans" defeated the Kovalivka team with a score of 2:1. The decisive goal was scored by Kyrylo Popov in the 87th minute after a pass from Kratov from the center of the field.
"Kryvbas" tightens the gap with "Polissya"
On Saturday, the round opened with Kryvyi Rih's "Kryvbas" facing Rivne's "Veres." Shandruk's team sensationally defeated Vernydub's side with a score of 3:0. Goals were scored by Sharai, Haiduchyk, and newcomer Kharatin, with the first goal resulting from a mistake by goalkeeper Makahnkov.
UPL: "Veres" crushes "Kryvbas" with a comical blunder22.02.25, 15:25 • 29712 views
A record transfer leads to victory for "Polissya"
The second match on Saturday took place in Zhytomyr, where "Inhulets," nominally the home team, hosted "Polissya." The first symbolic kick-off in the match was executed by Bohdan Kraevskyi—a "Polissya" fan and son of a soldier, Andriy Kraevskyi, who died while on duty with the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
The head coach of "Polissya," Imad Ashur, presented the jersey and scarf of the team to the performer.
In the first half, "Polissya" had the upper hand, but the most memorable moment came from Israeli player Yosefi, who struck from a sharp angle after winning the ball from Oleksandr Zhovtenko—the ball hit the net from the outside, and there was also a miss from Oleksiy Hutsuliak. "Inhulets" played confidently in defense, opting for counterattacks, resulting in a goalless first half.
After the break, the game pattern did not change significantly: "Polissya" maintained the initiative while Kobin's players sought opportunities on the counter. In the 62nd minute, "Polissya" executed a brilliant attack that resulted in a goal: Chobotenkо passed to Hutsuliak in the center, who flicked it on to Krushynskyi, and the midfielder delivered a perfect cross to Nazarenko, who squared the ball across the goal line for Batista to tap into the empty net—0:1. Notably, Batista is the most expensive transfer in "Polissya's" history, costing 1 million euros.
However, it is worth mentioning that Batista missed several opportunities, including a one-on-one chance.
The brightest moment for "Inhulets" came from Ilya Hadzhuk's shot hitting the crossbar from close range after a throw-in by Roman Volokhatyi and a header setup by Stanislav-Nuri Malysh in the 81st minute. This was arguably the only chance for the nominal hosts to score in this match.
The final whistle confirmed a victory for "Polissya," allowing the Zhytomyr team to close the gap with "Kryvbas" (just one point behind), while "Inhulets" remained at the bottom.
"We understand that we might not play at our home stadium, and we do not refuse these conditions. We have no other choice; we will work and do everything possible to keep the team in the UPL," said "Inhulets" coach Vasyl Kobin after the match.
"LNZ" overcomes the "ailing" "Rukh"
The final match of Saturday, which almost did not take place, was held in Lviv, where local "Rukh" hosted Cherkasy's "LNZ." Previously, UNN reported that "Rukh" requested to postpone the match due to a severe epidemiological situation within the team, but without waiting for a response from UAF, it was decided to proceed with the match.
The first symbolic kick in the match was taken by Ostap Levus—a police officer who joined the National Police's "Rage" brigade. He had been executing assault tasks in the Torets direction, where he was injured, and is now undergoing rehabilitation from a shrapnel wound.
Right from the start of the match, the guests quickly opened the scoring—after a corner kick, the "LNZ" goalkeeper punched the ball away, which was picked up by Yashari, who carried the "leather" almost the entire length of the field and delivered a "Swede" pass to Tankovskyi, who accurately shot past the goalkeeper—1:0 in favor of "LNZ."
"Rukh" threatened the Cherkasy goal several times from set pieces, but they never managed to convert those into shots on target. Similarly, the second half could have started with a goal, but Einel's shot hit the crossbar. Moments later, Didyk closed a standard delivery but shot wide. Another debutant for the "yellow-blacks," Vladyslav Pohorelyi, had a dangerous attempt, but the goalkeeper caught the ball after that shot.
Neither team created more opportunities, and the final whistle marked a victory for Roman Hryhorchuk's players, who returned to Ukrainian football after 10 years.
"I can't comment on the entire game, but for the first half, I can say that the guys brought me back to a state where I enjoy what they are doing. That means a lot. The first half was quite correct. Not perfect, but very good, and I am satisfied," said Hryhorchuk after the match.
"Obolon" escapes the relegation zone and sends "Vorskla" there
The first match on Sunday was held at the Viktor Bannikov Stadium in Kyiv. The capital's "Obolon" hosted Poltava's "Vorskla." Before the match, both teams honored the fallen Ukrainian soldiers with a moment of silence, including "Obolon" fan Pavlo Vedibida, who died on November 13 last year in battle near Chasiv Yar.
This match was crucial for both teams, as they were very close to each other in the standings, which is why neither team sat back in defense for long. Sergey Myakushko could have opened the scoring in the second minute, but the "Vorskla" winger lacked precision—the ball went past the near post. "Obolon" created their first chance in the 15th minute: after a standard delivery from Chernenko, Bychyk headed over the bar.
In the first half, "Vorskla" appeared sharper, creating several opportunities, including Avdili's shot on target saved by the goalkeeper, and Myakushko's attempt from outside the box—Marchenko managed to block it. Later, Salabay noticed that the "brewer's" goalkeeper had come far out of his goal and attempted to lob him, but the ball sailed over the goal.
After the break, "Obolon" became more active and forced Isenko to work. Ultimately, "Obolon's" attacking efforts led to a penalty in favor of the "brewers"—in the 62nd minute, Hrusha shot on goal, hitting Pavliuk's hand, and the referee pointed to the spot after reviewing VAR—Sukhanov perfectly placed the ball into the right "nine"—1:0 in favor of "Obolon."