On Monday, September 14, Dynamo played their sixth-round Ukrainian Premier League match. The White and Blues hosted Epitsentr (Kamianets-Podilskyi). It should be noted that the match was played on the birthday of the White and Blues’ head coach Ihor Kostiuk, who turned 51 today.
The match brought together teams from the same part of the league table. Before the sixth round, Dynamo’s opponents occupied fifth place, having collected eight points from five matches. Our team had earned seven points from four games and sat in seventh place.
The return of Mykola Shaparenko to the starting lineup attracted attention before the match, with the midfielder having been out for almost a month due to injury.
The opening minutes were relatively calm, with Dynamo dominating possession and controlling the ball more, but there were few genuinely dangerous chances. Ponomarenko and Shaparenko both had attempts, but the visitors’ defence dealt with them reliably. Meanwhile, Epitsentr launched a swift counterattack, with Rueda Bodega passing to Sydun in the final phase, but Kendziоra managed to block the shot at the last moment and neutralise the threat.
In the second half of the opening period, the visitors mounted another promising counterattack. Rueda Bodega received a pass from midfield, broke down the right flank and sent a low cross towards Vashchenko, but the latter could only win a corner. Epitsentr came closest to scoring after the resulting corner, when Rueda Bodega sent the ball towards the near post and Sydun headed just wide.
Dynamo, however, made much better use of their opportunity. First, Ponomarenko tested Fedotov, who made the save, but the next Dynamo attack produced the opening goal. Dubinchak sent a low cross into the penalty area, Shaparenko laid the ball off for Yarmolenko, and Andrii made no mistake, taking his tally of Ukrainian Premier League goals to 124 and equalling Maksym Shatskikh’s record – 1:0.
The second half began with another positive moment for the hosts. Sych delivered a low cross from the right into the centre of the Epitsentr penalty area, where Lonwijk was unmarked and struck a powerful low shot into the corner – 2:0.
Midway through the second half, the ball found the Epitsentr net once again, but Voloshyn’s goal was ruled out for offside.
The visitors were also saved by the post after Shaparenko’s cross and Mykhavko’s header. During the final minutes, Dynamo played without taking unnecessary risks, but still managed to score again and make the scoreline emphatic. Ponomarenko was the scorer, finding the top corner with a spectacular direct free kick – 3:0. There could have been more, but another Voloshyn effort struck the post.
The final score was 3-0, a convincing victory for Dynamo. The Kyiv side will play their next Ukrainian Premier League match on Saturday, September 19, when they will be the away team against Zorya of Luhansk in the seventh round.
UPL. Matchday 6
Dynamo – Epitsentr – 3-0 (1-0)
14.09.2026. Kyiv, Valerii Lobanovskyi Dynamo stadium.
Dynamo: 1. Bushchan, 5. Sych, 94. Kędziora, 32. Mykhavko, 44. Dubinchak (23. Malysh, 84), 15. Rubchynskyi, 21. Lonwijk (91. Mykhailenko, 64), 10. Shaparenko (8. Pikhalonok, 84), 7. Yarmolenko (c) (9. Voloshyn, 64), 22. Kabaiev (42. Bah, 76), 11. Ponomarenko.
Epitsentr: 71. Fedotov, 7. Luchkevych (25. Horin, 46), 13. Repai, 77. Nil, 97. Klymets, 5. Zaporozhets (14. Tavares Pulido, 46), 8. Myroniuk (28. Lipovuz, 74), 27. Vashchenko (10. Seberio, 67), 99. Rojas, 21. Rueda Bodega (59. Kozak, 67), 20. Sydun.
Goals: Yarmolenko (42), Lonwijk (50), Ponomarenko (85).
Bookings: Yarmolenko (31), Mykhavko (59), Voloshyn (77) – Vashchenko (15), Repai (67), Kozak (71), Rojas (84).
