On Friday, April 17, in Matchday 24 of the Ukrainian championship Dynamo Kyiv hosted Zorya Luhansk at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi stadium.
“White-Blues” came into this match after two consecutive defeats so there were no issues with motivation. Striker Matvii Ponomarenko also returned from suspension and would go on to play a key role in the first half.
The match began with Zorya’s attacks. In the 7th minute Jordan joined the attack and headed from the center of the box but goalkeeper Neshcheret caught the ball on the line. Shortly after Ponomarenko, tracking back in defense, fouled against Slesar on the edge of the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty. Captain Budkivskyi converted confidently from the spot – 0:1.
Soon after Budkivskyi had another good chance to double the lead but failed to connect properly with a cross from the right. However, in the 19th minute, Ponomarenko made up for his earlier mistake. Dynamo executed a fine move: Brazhko delivered a long pass from his own half, Shaparenko squared it and Ponomarenko calmly finished past the goalkeeper – 1:1.
It was clear the forward was highly motivated after his enforced absence. In the 25th minute he nearly scored again but his shot was blocked. Shortly afterward he attempted to finish a cross from Buialskii while falling but the ball went wide.
In the 37th minute Shaparenko almost scored a stunning goal with a volley from about 25 meters but goalkeeper tipped it over the bar. From the resulting corner Zakharchenko nearly scored with a header but Turbayevskyi made another excellent save.
A controversial moment occurred in the 41st minute. Dynamo thought they had taken the lead after Ponomarenko set up Buialskii who scored under the goalkeeper. However, after a lengthy VAR review, an offside was given in the buildup – although replays did not clearly confirm it.
