Shaparenko, Buyalskiy, Chelyadin, Guerrero and the most difficult goalkeeper choice: the entire team of the 2nd round of the Premier League

On the SportArena.com website – teams from all rounds of the Ukrainian Premier League 2024/25. Who made it into the top 11 this time and became the winner in individual nominations?

Game program of the 2nd round:

Goalkeeper – Evgeniy Volynets (Polesie)

This round I have the most difficult goalkeeper choice in many years. The fact is that Karpatyets Alexander Kemkin parried a penalty from Lunev, which was a key episode in the bright victory of the Lviv team over Kryvbas. In other circumstances, this would have been an iron place in the team of the tour, but it is rare that another such bright goalkeeper performance occurs in a tour.

Volynets parried five Shakhtar shots (Kemkin – three), and some of the saves were made with some incredible reaction and jumping ability. The Poliesia goalkeeper saved the coolest balls after headers from Sikan, Matvienko and Bondar, and especially after a difficult shot from Eginaldo, which Yevhen parried while falling backwards. The goalkeeper’s incredible play helped the Zhytomyr team to a minimal victory over the “miners” – the first victory under Ashur’s leadership.

PrThe second defender is Alexey Sych (Rukh)

The activity of the defender of the Ukrainian Olympic team Sych played its role in the fact that Rukh won the right flank. Oleksiy did not avoid single combats, he confronted his opponents quite toughly and caused great difficulties for Obolon with his constant flank passes. It was he who picked up the ball after the throw-in and crossed it advantageously for Krasnopir, after which the newcomer to Rukh scored into the goal of his former team. Sych himself also shot twice at the opponents’ goal and actively supported Runich and Kvasnitsa, who came on as a substitute so successfully.

ThisCentral defender – Vitaly Cold (Rukh)

On the eve of the match with Obolon, it became known that the main defender of the Lviv team, Slyubik, was out due to injury. This is a very serious loss, which raised doubts about the tournament success of the team with a very young roster. But how did Kholod replace the injured one! Firstly, he was quite successful in defense, where he created a great duet with Didyk (the clean sheet was the result of their precise, well-coordinated work). Secondly, it was Vitaliy who fell on the grass, earning a penalty for the first goal. And this was one of the most important events of the match at Obolon Arena.

ThisCentral defender – Sergey Chobotenko (Polesie)

Zaporizhzhya native Chobotenko played for Dynamo and Shakhtar at the youth level, and now as a defender of Poliesia he went out against the grandee of domestic football. Despite the injuries of Beskorovaynyi and then Sarapiya, Sergey managed to play well with the Brazilian newcomer Viale, tried to slow down the attacks of the Donetsk team, although the guests did not always succeed clearly, but luck and the crazy play of Volynets helped. And at the end of the first half, Chobotenko joined the corner and scored the winning goal – the only one in the match – against Shakhtar. Thus, the biggest sensation of the tour was created.

LeThe first defender is Vladislav Dubinchak (Dynamo)

The quality competition that Vivcharenko imposed on Dubinchak under Shovkovskiy greatly stimulates both players. Vladislav started the match with Veres in the starting lineup and contributed to the victory over the hosts. He actively joined the attacks, combined and spent a lot of time on the opponent’s half of the field. It was Dubinchak who started the second scoring combination from the depth of the field, connecting Shaparenko, from whose pass Buyalskiy shot the goal. Later, Vladislav sharpened the game several times with crosses and serves, and could also score himself – the ball was caught by the goalpost.

ThisCentral midfielder – Artem Chelyadin (Vorskla)

There was little to suggest the crushing defeat of the Left Bank, moreover, the UPL debutant looked good in the first half. However, immediately after the break, Vorskla midfielder Chelyadin caught the moment when the Kyiv goalkeeper failed to hold on to the ball after a corner and managed to open the scoring. Artem did not leave the game afterwards, in particular, he gave a goal pass to Kovtalyuk and helped the Poltava team win the center of the field.

PrSecond midfielder – Juan Alvina Bezerra (FC Alexandria)

The fast Bezerra was a difficult task for the LNZ defense more than once – the opponents could only stop him with a foul, and Alvin himself willingly used his advantages, breaking through the hosts’ redoubt several times. In fact, the score could have been opened with a pass from the Brazilian, but Shulyansky missed in the opening. But later Bezerra himself, having played in the depths of the field with Kopina, made a solo run through the right flank and shot so that the ball ricocheted off an opponent (it was the Albanian Daiko) into the LNZ goal.

Atdefensive midfielder – Vitaly Buyalsky (Dynamo)

If the coaching staff allocated only one half to Shaparenko on the eve of the key Champions League qualifying match against Rangers, then Buyalsky played 90 minutes before being replaced by Lonwijk and caused a lot of trouble for Veres. It was Vitaliy who scored the winning goal from a pass by Shaparenko, and in another moment only the Rivne goalkeeper Kozhukhar saved Buyalskyy’s precise shot under the crossbar. Vitaliy’s own passes intensified the game, in particular, Bragaru should have scored after his intensification.

Atdefensive midfielder – Ambrosiy Chachua (Carpathians)

Karpaty entered the UPL for the first time in their modern history, but they had to postpone their first goal and first victory until the second round after a draw in their hometown of Chachua (0:0 with Veres). Frankly speaking, the success of the Lviv team in the match with the bronze medalist was hardly predictable, especially after the start of the game with several deadly moments from Kryvbas and a penalty. However, the “lions” were able to turn the game around. Even in the debut, Chachua acted sharply, could have scored (the opponents blocked one good shot). Before the break, he played as a participant in a goal combination (he passed the ball to Klimenko, who rolled the ball back for Polegenko to strike). And already in the second half, Amvrosiy managed to finish off Alvarez’s strike, bringing the game with the Kryvyi Rih team to a sensational crushing victory.

Lestrong midfielder – Artur Shah (Karpaty)

After Klimenko was sent off, the Karpaty coaching staff had a dilemma with choosing his replacement. There were different options, and 19-year-old Shah was at the very end of the list. However, Lupashko trusted this player and was right. It was Artur who opened the scoring, reacting to a rebound and immediately shooting without a chance for the goalkeeper. He also sharpened the game twice, at one point in the first half his double sharpening was blocked by defenders, in the second – the goalkeeper parried the ball. The match with Kryvbas is a benefit for Shah, who had previously episodically shown himself in the First and Second Leagues, and now challenged Kostenko and other players capable of playing on the flanks of midfield.

Onfalling – Eduardo Guerrero (Zarya)

In Odessa, the Luhansk team needed three points, and they took them – again with a one-goal advantage. In this tough game, Guerrero’s goalscoring instincts showed, as he shot at Chornomorets’ goal five times in total (two shots hit the target, two went wide, and one was blocked). It was Eduardo who, immediately after the break, headed in a pass from Antyukh. The skillful execution of the Panamanian gave Zarya the result it needed.

• Bombers

• Assistants

“Goal+pass”

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All calculations by Artur Valerko, SportArena.com

Ruslan Rotan is going through a game episode near the field: oh, time, come back 10-15 years, what kind of midfielder would he be for the modern UPL! / photo fc-lnz.com

After a total failure in the European Cups, Poliesie managed, despite all the circumstances, to play with Shakhtar in the most strict and disciplined manner. Having lost both central defenders, who had played as main players before their injuries (after Beskoravayny, Sarapiy was also knocked out right before the visit to the capital), the Zhitomir team managed to play to zero against the current champion, and the former Shakhtar defender Chobotenko scored the winning goal from a set piece. Now Poliesie is in good ranks with Vorskla, Alexandria and Lviv, who have also sensationally outplayed the Donetsk team in recent years.

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

In our tour, there were only two productive substitutions, but how they affected the course of these meetings! At the “Left Bank Arena”, with the score 0:1, Vorskla’s Kovtalyuk scored first, and then Myakushko scored with a pass from another player from the bench – Shkriel. But at the “Obolon Arena”, Kvasnitsa scored Rukh’s third goal with a pass from Korabin, and Klayver put an end – even an exclamation mark – to the match with Obolon. What is the most important of these events? Probably the second goal of the Poltava team. Kovtalyuk scored against Left Bank, which had previously created several chances and had reason to expect a better result. And it was this goal that largely ruined the “stork” game plan.

• SportArena statistics: 2 matches in the championship, 1 goal.

19-year-old Shah scored the first goal, having perfectly oriented himself in a difficult game situation. Lupashko’s coaching staff is from out of town. Sometimes, in such circumstances, it is difficult for local talents to compete with experienced players “under the task”. Arthur’s case is a conventional sign for all the youth of the Carpathians that the door is open. Diligence in everyday work and a conscientious attitude to every minute of the game give such a result.

• SportArena statistics: 1 match in the championship, 1 goal.

Rukhovets Klaiver and Oleksandriyets Bezerra scored the “final” goals for their teams away from home, Vorskla’s Shkriel also assisted the final goal – not the only one in the match. But Panamanian Guerrero in Odessa became the author of the only goal for the entire match and the winning goal, when he skillfully headed in Antyukh’s cross. Eduardo brought the number of his goals for Zorya to 19 – with 9 assists – in 45 matches. This is a very cool figure, which makes you believe that “Lalo” is worth more than 1.5 – 2.5 million euros, which, according to insider information, were offered to the Luhansk team by some giants of Eastern European football.

• SportArena statistics: 2 matches in the championship, 1 goal.

The tour has seen many goals from set pieces, skillful headers, and some great long-range strikes, like that of Karpaty player Polegenko. However, watch how Shaparenko opened the scoring in Rivne: he literally demanded the ball from his teammates because he saw an opportunity to launch it from point to point from the corner of the penalty area into the far top corner. Watch the video at this link.

Single-handedly, in one half (!), he provided the Kievans with a sufficient goal legacy to take three points with Veres between the key European Cup matches against Rangers.

• SportArenа statistics: 1 league match, 1 goal, 1 assist.