On Saturday, April 11, as part of Matchday 23 of the Ukrainian Premier League Dynamo Kyiv visited Zhytomyr where they faced Metalist 1925 Kharkiv.
As was the case with the youth teams the day before, today’s opponents also entered the field wearing T-shirts featuring Mircea Lucescu who passed away at the age of 80, thus paying tribute to the legendary coach.
As for the match itself “White-Blues” were without their main attacking force, Matvii Ponomarenko, who was suspended following a red card in the previous match against Karpaty. Guerrero started up front in his place. From the opening minutes Dynamo controlled possession and it was the Panamanian forward who had a chance to open the scoring in the 10th minute. Yarmolenko delivered a brilliant pass from his own half to send Eduardo through on goal but Guerrero got tangled in his feet and failed to get a shot off.
The Kharkiv side relied mainly on high pressing and counterattacks and, early in the game, came close several times to troubling the Dynamo defense. Meanwhile Ihor Kostiuk’s men methodically searched for openings in the opponent’s defense. The right flank was particularly active, with two chances created within a few minutes. First, after a low cross to the goal area, Shaparenko tried to flick the ball with his heel but the attempt was blocked. Shortly afterward Yarmolenko found Voloshyn with a pass and his shot from the center of the penalty area was cleared for a corner by Shabanov who covered for his goalkeeper.
In the 30th minute Dynamo appealed to the referee after Tymchyk’s cross struck Salyuk’s hand but no penalty was awarded. “White-Blues” were also wasteful in front of goal - notably in the 41st minute when Shaparenko missed from a promising free-kick near the right edge of the penalty area. On the final minute of the first half Dynamo nearly punished a misunderstanding between Shabanov and Varakuta but Yarmolenko’s shot after Guerrero’s pass from the right was blocked by defenders.
After the break the pattern of the game remained unchanged. Dynamo again controlled possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances. Voloshyn fired a dangerous shot from the left inside channel of the penalty area but the goalkeeper reacted well to save it at the near post. In the 60th minute Nazar struck again from the edge of the box, forcing goalkeeper to parry the ball in front of him, but Mykhailenko failed to reach the rebound under pressure from a defender.
As the match progressed the tempo slowed down. Despite needing a goal Dynamo created just few dangerous moments. Metalist 1925 defended solidly, blocking numerous crosses and attempts. Then, in the 78th minute, trouble struck for Kostiuk’s side. After a delivery from Kalytvyntsev into the penalty area the ball deflected off Kohut and fell kindly to Antyukh who fired past Neshcheret from close range to make it 1:0.
Dynamo still had enough time to rescue the match but they were unable to mount significant pressure in the closing minutes. In the end the final whistle confirmed a second consecutive defeat for Dynamo, leaving them five points behind third-placed Polissia in the standings.
Ukrainian Premier League, Matchday 23
Metalist 1925 – Dynamo – 1:0 (0:0)
April 11, 2026. Zhytomyr, Polissia Central City Stadium
Metalist 1925: 30. Varakuta – 27. Krupskyi, 13. Salyuk, 31. Shabanov (c), 24. Martyniuk – 18. Pavliuk, 77. Baptistella (45. Kalytvyntsev, 27), 16. Arevalo (25. Lytvynenko, 61), 26. Zabergdja (15. Antyukh, 61), 19. Rashytsia (17. Kohut, 76) – 98. Itodo (99. Mba, 76).
Dynamo Kyiv: 35. Neshcheret – 18. Tymchyk (13. Korobov, 83), 40. Bilovar, 32. Mykhavko, 2. Vivcharenko – 6. Brazhko, 91. Mykhailenko (29. Buialskyi, 83), 10. Shaparenko (8. Pikhalonok, 76), 7. Yarmolenko (c) (70. Redushko, 66), 9. Voloshyn – 39. Guerrero (16. Ogundana, 66).
Goal: Antyukh (78).
Bookings: Varakuta (90+5) – Voloshyn (47).
