The guys pulling the leaders, twice 5:0 and van Leeuwen’s new talisman: the entire team of the 7th round of the first stage of the First League

Game program of the 7th round (report with video here)

It’s already traditional:

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

INRatar – Oleg Bilyk (Epicenter)

The Carpathians crushed the Ternopil team in the last round, so Epicenter rightly expected serious opposition from them. And so it turned out: the visitors made 15 shots at Bilyk’s goal, nine of which were on target. Oleh saved several very difficult shots from play (first of all, the attempt by Mikhalchuk is mentioned) and parried a not hopeless penalty from Tsutsiura. The hosts’ crushing victory would not have happened if the goalkeeper had weakened. Bilyk finished the fifth of six matches without conceding a goal. Given the injuries of Zhmurko and Chernobai, what did Epicenter do without such a high-quality newcomer?

• Best in Group B: Nikita Fedotov (YUKSA)

Praw defender – Dmitry Kapinus (Metalist 1925)

Kharkiv residents have serious problems with concentration and defensive play, under such circumstances, winning without scoring for the first time this season is an achievement, especially against such a good opponent as modern Victoria. Kapinus not only worked satisfactorily on the flank against the fast-paced Mashtalir-Ulyanov duo, but also joined in the attacks himself. Dmitry earned a penalty in a fight with Sasovsky, from which Churko secured the advantage and deprived his team of nerves in the final minutes.

• Best in Group A: Vladimir Tanchik (Epicenter)

Thiscentral defender – Evgeniy Misyura (SK Poltava)

The Poltava derby was played with mutually sharp play, but with the same number of mistakes as aggressive, well-played attacks or set pieces. So, paying tribute to the excellent solo performance of Misiura, we still note that the defensive link of SK Poltava allowed the opponents to score twice. Personally, Yevhen from his position of center back actively connected to the opponent’s goal and could have opened the scoring already in the debut. Later, two connections of Misiura to corners from Odaryuk laid the foundation for the victory of the hosts, and the defender scored the first goal with his heel.

• Best in Group A: Andrey Busko (Bukovina)

ThisCentral defender – Nikita Bezugly (Bukovina)

It is still unknown whether Metalist 1925 will lose anything with Bezugly’s departure (after all, there are high-status defenders among its newcomers). However, it is already clear that the arrival of a versatile player is beneficial for Bukovina. Nikita worked well in one-on-one combat, especially aerial combat, which is usually of great importance for Metalist with tall defenders who are great at connecting to the opponent’s goal. He and Busko also did quality passing work, which was important for the Chernivtsi team’s transition from defense to attack.

• Best in Group B: Artem Terekhov (FSK Mariupol)

LeThe first defender is Alexander Klimets. (Epicenter)

Considering the transformer tactical scheme of the Carpathians, Klimts was expecting a tough confrontation with Radulsky, Rudyuk, Solovyov and even Tsyutsyura and Khoma, who willingly “fell” to the flanks. Alexander won most of the duels, and did not allow the opponents to roam in space. And also – he connected well to the opponent’s goal. He could score himself, and in the second half he sent a good goal pass to Protsiv, stretching the ball practically to the goal line.

• Best in Group B: Andrey Dedyaev (YUKSA)

Thiscentral midfielder – Maxim Kazakov (YUKSA)

The midfield of YUKSA played very brightly against Dinaz – despite the fact that the opponents had such names as Chepurnenko and Ogirya, as well as young players with a good school. Specifically, Kazakov played hard in the support zone, and also twice connected to Gabriel’s corners, scoring his first double for his new team and in the First League. If you seriously delve into Maxim’s game, you can find moments for criticism – once he “brought” a serious threat to his goal. But is it worth it? YUKSA will win two matches in a row with a score of 5:0. The coaching staff will analyze the mistakes, and we note the clear advantage of the “crusaders” in the center of the field, they played with a reserve, and under such circumstances it is difficult to maintain full concentration for the entire match.

• Best in Group A: Vitaly Koltsov (Bukovina)

Prthe new midfielder – Gabriel Goulart (YUKSA)

Now we see the Gabriel who tore apart the Second League left backs. Gradually, the inverted winger of YUKSA is reaching his optimal form. In the match with Dinaz, where he was opposed on the flank by Kartushov himself, Gular confidently outplayed his opponents one-on-one and could have scored one. However, he showed himself more as a quality assistant. It was he who paved the way for Castro’s goal in the first minute, and then assisted two goals by Kazakov with two corner kicks. He could have done even more, but this contribution was enough to repeat the team’s biggest victory in the First League in history.

• Best in Group A: Maxim Protsiv (Epicenter)

Atoffensive midfielder – Roman Tolochko (Agribusiness)

Playing in a triangle between Teply and Kuzmin, this midfielder was traditionally very useful for the team. However, in Ternopil, Tolochko came to the forefront and played a major role. In the endgame, he retained his freshness and thirst for the game, and therefore first made a timely pass to Voytikhovsky, who equalized the score for the second time in the match against Nyva (see the “Goal of the Tour” nomination in our article-results), and also scored himself, taking advantage of a timely pass from Kasimov and using a chance in front of the goal. Roman’s winning goal continues the leader’s winning streak. Only Dynamo in the UPL and Agrobusiness in the PFL are going without losing points in adult professional competitions.

• Best in Group B: Vladlen Yurchenko (Metalist 1925)

LeViy midfielder – Sergei Stan (Metalist 1925)

Van Leeuwen has his own “talisman” – with Stan on the field, Metalist 1925 wins and gushed with beautifully played moments. Sergey himself, however, did not score this time – although in the first half alone he was in the spotlight in three dangerous attacks. But from his well-executed pass, Yurchenko scored a header (!) into Viktoria’s goal. Later, Sergey made several more gorgeous belts and crosses. In particular, Bugay should have scored a goal, and Stan should have added another assist to his record.

• Best in Group A: Dmitry Kasimov (Agribusiness)

Onfalling – Daniil Kravchuk (Epicenter)

Kravchuk’s good form compensates for the serious personnel losses that Epicenter suffered in the attacking group (both irretrievable, in the form of players moving to other clubs, and situational – due to injuries). It was Danil who opened the scoring when he picked up the ball in the center of the field after Zaporozhets had fought, and made a solo run with an accented strike. Later, he waited for the Carpathians’ mistake, intercepting the goalkeeper’s pass to his defender and scoring a double. In total, Kravchuk made nine strikes on the visitors’ goal, completely outplaying them in space.

• Best in Group B: Dmitry Shcherbak (SC Poltava)

Onfalling – Maxim Voitikhovsky (Agribusiness)

Voytikhovsky has been scoring a goal for the third round in a row, and if you know that all the victories of the Group A leader are with a minimal difference (one goal), then the contribution of the defender, transferred to the attack, is simply enormous. In Ternopil, Maksym fought hard in front and at first distinguished himself more with passes and assists (it was after his subtle pass that Kuzmin equalized the score for the first time). But later, having received a pass from Tolochko while surrounded, he made a wonderful long-range strike, scoring the most beautiful goal of the round and providing his team with a strong-willed victory away to Nyva.

• Best in Group B: Wendy “Wawa” Guerreiro (YUKSA)

In the summer, Epicenter lost a number of leaders, now 3-5 players are consistently in the infirmary, and look – in second place are Nagornyak’s charges, they play quite effectively and are among only three teams in the First League that have not lost in the 2024/25 championship (with Agrobiznes and Poltava). In the match against Prykarpattia, which performed especially well in the previous round (3:0 against Ternopil Nyva), the Kamyanets-Podilskyi team won a crushing victory, and the castling carried out by Nagornyak (including forced ones) worked and gave the team the opportunity to continue their unbeaten streak.

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

This is not the kind of round where the “jokers” are on fire. But there were some effective actions from the players from the bench. Well, for example, the fifth goal of YUKSA was scored by Bohdan Mishenko from a pass by Mateus Fogo (actually taking the authorship from the Brazilian, because the ball was going into the goal). However, Dmitry Kasimov entered the game best of all, making an important contribution to the victory of Agrobiznes. He could have scored himself (the Ternopil goalkeeper sent the ball into the crossbar), but he gave an assist for the winning goal by Tolochko.

• SportArena statistics: 6 matches in the championship, 1 assist.

Much in the current Metalist 1925 happened not because of, but in spite of. They played Ari Moura in the main team, signed such a status winger as Kalitvintsev Jr., but their injuries forced them to pay attention to the former Epicenter midfielder Stan. And here it turned out that the 22-year-old player from the Karpaty school is technical, proactive and sharp. For two matches in a row, Sergey has been pulling the flank game of the Kharkiv team. In the match with Viktoria, he has a well-executed assist on Yurchenko and many other aggravations.

• SportArena statistics: 4 matches in the championship, 1 goal, 1 assist.

Defender Misiura (SK Poltava) scored with a heel, midfielder Yurchenko (Metalist 1925) finished nicely with a header, and, for example, forward Kravchuk (Epicenter) made a classic solo run. However, there is one goal that stands apart from the others. We quote the report: “From a pass by Tolochko, Voytikhovsky fired a magnificent shot from 18 meters – it’s 2:2. Maxim’s sixth effective action in six matches (four goals and two assists).”

The goal can be seen in the video starting at 5:51

Read later on our website an interview with the player who scored and made an assist in a tough match with Ternopil’s Nyva.

• Sport Arena statistics: 6 matches in the championship, 1 goal, 2 assists.

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ALL THE BEST ON TOUR: goalkeeper, joker, young player, goalscorer – in one article. On our website – individual nominations in the First League and tour figures!

P.S. When preparing the material, photographs of official club resources were used. The material was written by the author in Ukrainian.