Ryazantsev, Shcherbak, Kozak, Kravchuk and Galenko: the entire team of the 16th round of the first stage of the First League

Game program of the 16th round (video report here)

About the best personalities and main figures of the tour – Here.

Goalkeeper – Dmitry Nepogodov (Podolia)

Traveling to Ternopil is a difficult test for any First League team. Moreover, in a head-on confrontation at the end of the first stage, when the last chances to qualify for the Championship group are at stake. Without exaggeration, we will say: if not for Nepogodov’s brilliant play, Podolia would not have left with points after the match with Niva. Dmitry parried a total of four shots on target, among them very difficult ones from Borodenko through himself or Gatala into difficult areas of the goal. Nepogodov’s “dry” match is the third in the current championship.

• Best in Group B: Vitaly Chebotarev (Left Bank)

Etcavy defender – Nikolay Buzhin (SK Poltava)

In the absence of Shmigelsky, there was some concern about the activity of the right flank, but Buzhin, together with Gorzhuy, literally tore apart his zone. He regularly joined in the attacks, supported his teammates from the depths, even in spite of his ability to shoot and finish. Participated in a number of sharp attacks, in particular, the first effective one at the initial stage. Usually former midfielders are criticized for working for the team, for the destructive side of things – however, in this match Nikolai managed to do both.

• Best Group A: Andrey Busko (Metalhead)

Tsecentral defender – Artem Terekhov (FSK Mariupol)

First of all, Terekhov played well in defense, working in clear cooperation with Shushko and Mamrosenko. Artem has about twenty tackles, rebounds and interceptions in Demidov. However, Terekhov’s main achievement is, of course, the winning goal. He once again successfully connected to a set-piece and completed a corner from Teplyakov at the end of the match with the score tied. An important victory for the Azov team, preserving their chances for the top five.

• Best in Group A: Kirill Prokopchuk (Podolia)

Tsecentral defender – Arsen Slotyuk (Left Coast)

Left Bank officially qualified for the Championship round, winning a difficult (and far from their best) match against Zaporozhye Metallurg. Among those who diligently and consistently performed their duties, it is worth noting the all-rounder Slotyuk. Throughout the season, replacing the injured Andrieshin in the center of defense, Arsen developed a good duo with former midfielder Yakimov. Together, they conscientiously slowed down their opponents, and Slotyuk personally saved the Kiev team before the break by blocking Buryak’s shot right in front of the goal.

• Best in Group A: Vladislav Moroz (Epicenter)

Lefirst defender – Sergey Chenbai (Ingulets)

The all-rounder Ingulets played not an easy calendar match – after all, for Chenbai, Kremen is a former club, where he once blossomed, declared himself at the all-Ukrainian level and earned interest from the UPL. Playing on the left in defense, Chenbai simply tormented his ex-teammates. Of his two skillful passes, Kvasov scored two goals, and could have been more.

• Best in Group A: Taras Sakiv (Carpathians)

Tsecentral midfielder – Ambrosy Chachua (Carpathians)

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Chachua for the modern Carpathians. This is exactly the player who can be called a style-maker. From the first minutes of an important match against his closest pursuer – Agribusiness – Ambrose began to lead his team’s game and meet the standards. Chachua took part in the initial stage of the first scoring combination and escalated the game many times through a penetrating pass or free throws. It is symbolic and fair that it was this football player who put an end to the match by masterfully converting Kostenko’s pass.

• Best in Group B: Ivan Mochevinsky (FSK Mariupol)

Etcav midfielder – Evgeny Ryazantsev (Metalhead)

The Kharkov team clearly has an interesting, unique game in mind. A number of players have good sporting prospects. Under such circumstances, even in view of the small average team experience and the unsuccessful play of more experienced newcomers, the result still had to come. And now – Metalist’s victory in Ivano-Frankivsk over Prykarpattya, which is the most motivated in terms of tournaments. The real hero of the match was Ryazantsev, a winger with a good school and an amazing shot. It was he who fired at the goal, after which Busko completed the finishing move – and the first ball ended up in the goal (due to the rebound from Evgeniy, the referee officially attributed the authorship to him). And already in the second half, with the score tied, Ryazantsev started on the first ball from his goalkeeper Rybak and masterfully brought victory to the guests..

• Best in Group B: Ivan Kogut (Left Bank)

Atattacking midfielder – Dmitry Shcherbak (SK Poltava)

Shcherbak played a crazy match in the regional derby with Gornyak-Sport. He himself scored twice and assisted Vivdich twice, first rolling him a pass under a well-calibrated shot, and then giving him a luxurious cutting pass on the move. As the captain of the Poltava team, Dmitry played great in the draw under his new teammate, was distinguished by his keen reading of the game and vision of the field, and also took part in all the most critical moments at the opponent’s goal.

• Best in Group A: Ruslan Palamar (Niva Buzovaya)

Lesenior midfielder – Alexander Kozak (Ingulets)

In the match with Kremlin, Kozak constantly changed zones with Bogunov, which put the opposing defenders in difficulty. It was Alexander who opened the scoring, skillfully sending the ball into the goal during an attack involving Kvasov and Kozyrenko. Later, he was the fastest to get his bearings when the other goalkeeper played on the way out and managed to finish. Overall, Kozak hit the visitors’ goal three times and interacted well with his teammates.

Best in Group A: Ian Kostenko (Carpathians)

Onfalling – Daniil Kravchuk (Epicenter)

How did Kravchuk play out, huh?!.. While, due to certain health problems, Gorny cannot help Epicenter for a full 90 minutes, the former right winger moved into the attack and modified it. Daniil willingly moves from the center to the flanks, interacts well with Lyashenko and Sten, and also plays excellent play-by-play. It was Kravchuk who, after the corner, judiciously passed the ball to Moroz, who opened the scoring. In the second half, he ran with Bejenar in a quick attack and showed generosity, instead of finishing his own, passing to his teammate in the right position. Actually, Daniil himself hit the Bukovina goal twice and could have scored goals, but he showed team spirit and made a great contribution to the victory, which brought Epicenter into the Champions group.

• Best in Group B: Yaroslav Kvasov (Ingulets)

Onfalling – Yaroslav Galenko (Victoria)

The trip to Chernigov was important for Victoria, because she only needed to win in order to qualify for the Champions group. And in this difficult game on artificial turf, Galenko’s experience ensured the result for the guests. Before the break, after Yaroslav’s pass, Mashtalir opened the scoring, and in the second half, Galenko scored from the penalty spot and on the finish.

• Best in Group A: Igor Neves Alves (Carpathians))

The Zaporozhye team adequately confronted one of the tournament favorites – early entry into the Champions group was at stake. However, Kogut’s crazy goal, several flurry attacks and constant pressure during the match allowed the Kiev team to minimally win against Metallurg. It was difficult – the visitors created the opportunity for a break at the end of the match in order to level the score. The Left Bank has not lost in five rounds (four wins and one draw over the last month), and has not lost on its home field since August – five wins and one draw in these three months. Thus, Left Bank qualifies early for the promotion round.

• Analysis from the All-Ukrainian Association of Football Coaches – Here.

Several players at once significantly strengthened the game from the bench, and one of them made an important contribution to the victory of his team. We are now talking about Teplyakov from FSK Mariupol, who assisted Terekhov’s winning goal from the corner. Nikita has four effective actions in this championship, and this is the first of them – after coming on as a substitute (in the 71st minute he came on instead of the author of the first goal, Batalsky).

• Sport Arena statistics: 10 league matches, 1 goal.

The regional derby did not foretell defeat until, in the 27th minute, Vivdic opened the scoring with a pass from Shcherbak. There were many events further, but Alexander did not switch off from the game. It was he who started on a subtle penetrating pass from his captain and scored his second and fourth team goal in the match with Gornyak-Sport with a light sweep over the goalkeeper. The guests also created many chances during the match, but after that they were able to score a prestige goal. Vivdich, meanwhile, in competition with such a high-quality and experienced striker as Streltsov, found himself in a new team.

• Sport Arena statistics: 10 matches in the championship, 5 goals, 1 assist.

Crazy back-heel goals from Igor from Carpathians and Kvasov from Ingulets, a cool sweep from Vivdich from Poltava – there was a lot to see in this round, but we have only one winner. We quote the report: “The usual unsuccessful clearance after a corner let Metallurg down. Kogut was on duty on the line of the penalty area, who famously laid down his body and launched the ball right into the goal with his right foot – 1:0. First goal in the championship for Ivan with six assists. I thought for a long time – where has this already happened? Zidane’s goal against Bayer in the 2002 Champions League final, only Zinedine scored with his left hand.”

The goal can be seen on video at 3:04

Read later on our website an interview with the player who scored the winning double in the match with Prykarpattya.

• Sport Arena statistics: 15 matches in the championship, 8 goals, 1 assist.

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ALL THE BEST OF THE TOUR: goalkeeper, wild card, young player, goalscorer – in one article. On our website – individual nominations in the First League and tour numbers!

PS When preparing the material, photographs of the official resources of the clubs were used. The material was written by the author in Ukrainian.