The clash between FC Karpaty Lviv and FC Shakhtar Donetsk ended a draw. This enabled Dynamo Kyiv to increase the gap between themselves and Shakhtar up to six points, coming closer to gold trophy. Metalist, having gained the victory over the outsider Mariupol Illichivets, booked the championship ‘bronze’.
Karpaty 0:0 Shakhtar
Karpaty provided a fervent resistance for Donetsk players during the match. Lviv players were even exceeding the opponents with poignant moments. Though Karpaty forwards lacked some accuracy while striking. The beginning of second time appeared to be unsuccessful for Shakhtar footballers, as Zvonimir Vukić was suspended on the 49th minute. However, Karpaty didn’t rejoice for a long time, 15 minutes after their forward Batista was suspended as well. Even incomplete squad didn’t let Shakhtar players grasp the game: their every attack was followed by a counterattack. Donetsk players tried to push their way forward when the match was coming up to the end, but they didn’t manage to break their opponents’ defense line.
Dynamo 2:0 Kharkiv
Dynamo players were aware of their main opponents’ slip, coming out on the field. Anatoliy Demyanenko’s team put the ball twice into opponents’ net during the first half. 24th minute passing, Brazilian combination of Rodrigo – Rincon - Kléber resulted in successful striking of Kléber, and five minutes after Corrêa scored. The second time was pretty much the same as the first one – Dynamo kept leading. Kharkiv squad was close to success with the help of one of the best championship strikers Oleksandr Gladkiy, but he failed to use his chance properly. Therefore, before the match Dynamo Kyiv is already six points ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Kryvbas 0:0 Tavriya
The match in Kryviy Rih wasn’t a quick-paced one, though Crimea players were slightly stronger. Once Volodymyr Homenyuk made his opponents nervous. He dashed into Kryvbas goalkeeping area, passed through two defenders and struck from the acute corner. The ball was in the net, but the referee rejected the goal claiming the offside.
Metalist 2:0 Illichivets
Kharkiv team won seven championship matches in a row, thus booking itself a national ‘bronze’ with three rounds left before the final. First half was a crucial one. Oleksiy Antonov scored on the 6th minute, and Oleksandr Babych – on the 15th. This notorious match for Illichivets shifted this team to the fixture bottom again.
Metalurh Zaporizhzhya 1:1 Dnipro
After a breaking defeat in Simferopol in the previous round (1:5) Metalurh players were willing to rehabilitate themselves in front of their fans, and they made it to some extent. They created several poignant moments around the opponents’ goal line. And one of them appeared to be successful on the 29th minute with a help of forward Serhiy Silyuk. After a break he had chances to score as well, but two brilliant moments were wasted. Closer to the end Metalurh footballers lost their vigilance, consequently Andriy Rusol socred with his head. After all, Oleg Protasov’s team attained its important point and kept the distance with Tavriya.
Chornomorets 3:0 Stal
This competition faced two teams fulfilling different tasks. Anyway, Alchevsk players struggling for survival are able to come up with quite unexpected results. For instance, in the previous round Stal scraped two points from Dynamo Kyiv. But in the match with Chornomorets Ton Kaanen’s team was defeated. This became evident in the first half when Oleg Venglynskiy struck twice. After a break the game became somewhat aggressive, but Valentyn Poltavets put the third goal into opponents’ net. Therefore, Stal holds the last position of tournament fixture, lagging five points behind Vorskla which is next to last – 14th position.
Zorya 0:0 Vorskla
In Lugansk two competitors standing close in the tournament fixture were battling out for three points. This spring Oleksandr Kosevych’s team are doing better than Poltava footballers. Viktor Nosov’s team have got nothing to lose, as the off-zone is close. The game kept the spectators in suspense starting after a break-time. Vorskla was likely to push its way forward on the 46th minute. Serhiy Kravchenko performed a free kick, but the ball stumbled upon a crossbar. And the strike of Myroslav Grumich made the ball bump into the bar. Further, Vorskla had some worthy moments, but didn’t manage to put them into effect.
Metalurh Donetsk 2:1 Arsenal
Before the match the coach staff of both teams underwent some changes. There were appointed deputy coaches of Donetsk and Kyiv clubs Jos Daerden and Vasily Evseev respectively. This match proved to be more successful for the Belgian. Volodymyr Pryyomov scored from the right wing on the 69th minute. Four minutes later the score was doubled by Peruvian Andres Mendoza. Arsenal finished only with a prestige goal performed by Serhiy Mizin.
