The division went on vacation, then divided into new groups. Personalities and figures of the 18th round of the first stage of the First League

Game program of the 18th round (video report here)

Already traditional:

• Read soon on our website the symbolic team of the next round
• interview with the hero of the tour, which Sport Arena determines together with the PFL

And now – our individual nominations:

The Kharkov club is the main favorite of the First League in terms of the level of equipment, coaching staff and club capabilities, however, only in the final rounds of the fall did it guarantee itself the “Championship” group and until the last match day was in fourth place in Group B. However, Metalist 1925 directly intervened in the distribution of top places, with his victory in Poltava securing the “winter championship” for Kudrovka. With this, Van Leeuwen’s team redeemed themselves for their defeat to the new leader, improved their position at the intermediate finish and gained points that will be important in the second stage. Although the match was not played on the first try (it, and two other matches of the tour, were canceled at a certain time due to a prolonged air raid), the Kharkov team, even without direct tournament motivation, managed to prove that the team has potential and is ready to realize its capabilities in a completely different way in the spring .

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

There were other successful replacements in this round – for example, Kharkov resident Sinchuk scored the winning goal in Ivano-Frankivsk, Sumy resident Danilyuk put an end to the defeat with YUKSA, Khmelnytskyi resident Orobets sweetened the defeat in the regional derby from the same Epicenter. However, there is a performance by a player who becomes a classic of successfully entering the game from the bench. For the fourth (!) round in a row, Demidenko gives assists after coming on as a substitute! In Khmelnitsky, he assisted Lipovuz, who scored the winning goal. We don’t know what will happen next, but Ivan definitely showed himself well at Epicenter. He is 21 years old, he can still improve.

• SportArena.com statistics: 6 league matches, 4 assists.

Once again, a player from this club becomes the best young player, but this is natural – few people in the First League trust the youth so much. Here’s an example. For the 18-year-old midfielder, this year is a landmark one. Although it seemed that after Metalist’s relegation from the UPL the showcase for Kharkov talents would fade, look at Sinchuk: he performed well at Euro 2024 among his peers, took part in the won Maurice Revello tournament, winning an individual prize there for his prospects, and was also regularly called up to age-specific teams throughout the season. Somewhere in the First League there was not enough time and energy, but in the match against Prykarpattya, where it was important for the Kharkiv team to win from the point of view of replenishing points (the main task – to reach the Champions group – was completed earlier), it was Sinchuk who came on as a substitute scored the winning goal.

• SportArena.com statistics: 7 matches in the championship, 1 goal.

There weren’t many matches, but we had plenty to choose from. We are not ashamed of the winner in the most spectacular category of the tour. We quote the report: “Epicenter pragmatically played back the score and consolidated its advantage in the end. The already mentioned Demidenko from the left corner of the penalty area threw a cross pass to Lipovuz, who from outside the penalty area with the right “Swede” spun the ball in the style of Quaresma closer to the top corner – 0:2. Oh-oh-oh!”.

Gol you can watch the video from 6:17

Read later on our website an interview with a player who scored twice and earned two effective set pieces in the match with YUKSA.

• SportArena.com statistics: 16 league matches, 5 goals.

Due to snowfalls and prolonged air raids, four matches of the tour were postponed in time, three of them even in date. However, if the matches took place in Khmelnitsky, Poltava, and Cherkasy, then in Zaporozhye and Horishni Plavni they did not.

Kremin was supposed to play with FSK Mariupol, but the match could not be played due to the siren. And since the club had already scraped together the funds to travel only thanks to the help of outsiders (in particular, they thanked Kovalevsky Kolos), the guests were not able to stay another day, spend money on accommodation and additional travel. The UAF CDC will determine the fate of the match and, in particular, the fate of FSK Mariupol will depend on the wording – one failure to appear, two means withdrawal from the tournament and loss of membership in the PFL. But let’s not rush, we repeat, there is a place for force majeure.

But Metallurg, instead of a scheduled match with Dinaz, was forced to play a two-way match. Moreover, the Vyshgorod club did not officially comment on the reasons for its absence. Here, too, a decision will be made additionally, but everything is heading towards a technical victory for Zaporozhye.

Let us add that the match between SK Poltava and Metalist 1925 took place in the same place a day later, but the game between Victoria and YUKSA took place not in Sumy, but at the suburban base of the Cherkasy LNZ. The village of Geronimovka made its debut in this way in the First League of the PFL of Ukraine.

Serious passions raged in the “match for first place” SK Poltava – Metalist 1925. There were several cases of injuries (in particular, the hosts’ attacker Marusich, who finished the game with a broken cheekbone – he is there, among those caught in the frame). And the winner from this confrontation was FC Kudrovka, which remained in first place for the winter.

Epicenter became the winner of Group A, FC Kudrovka – B. But there is an important nuance: the fate of two unplayed matches (Metallurg – Dinaz and Kremen – Mariupol) will be determined by the KGC, which will make the final changes to the standings after the first stage.

A few more interesting things:

Metalist won the 120th victory in the First League, Epicenter – the 30th

Prykarpattya conceded the 850th goal in the First League (after Egor Abramov’s strike)

Anti-record, 4th, own goal by Nikita Bezugly in the First League (in Bukovyna – 2, previously in Obolon – 2), one “crossbow” ahead of Vitaly Vizaver (in Krymteplitsa – 2, in Kramatorsk – 1)

1st red card in the First League for Daniil Kravchuk (Epicenter, in the 36th game)

Victoria’s 10th penalty in the First League – 9th goal

Ruslan Palamar (Victoria) continues to convert all his penalties in the First League – the 13th goal from the mark. The longest starting series of penalty kicks in the history of the First League belongs to Vakhtang Karibov (Karpaty Mukachevo) – 17 goals in 1993-1995

The 100th match in the First League was played by Alexander Snezhko (Podolia), the 50th by Roman Bodnya (Bukovyna), Igor Vartsaba (Poltava), the 1st by Ramik Gadzhiev (Metalist 1925), Andrey Demidenko (YUKSA)

The 20th goal in the First League was scored by Daniil Kravchuk (Epicenter), the 5th by Maxim Evpak (Victoria, 2nd goal in the game), the 1st by Gennady Sinchuk (Metalist, in the 32nd game), Maxim Boyko ( Victoria, in the 22nd game)

More interesting things in the PFL digital selection, whose information partner is Sport Arena.

• Tournament table after the 18th round
• Group A

• Group B

Please note that the final form of the first stage table will be obtained after all technical results have been entered. The standings ahead of the second stage will be compiled later and presented in a separate publication.

• Bombers

• Assistants

• Goal+ass

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All calculations by Arthur Valerko, SportArena.com. The material was written by the author in Ukrainian.