On Saturday, September 19, in the 7th round of the Ukrainian Premier League, Dynamo Kyiv faced Luhansk-based Zorya. Despite being the away team, the match took place in Kyiv at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium.
The match began with Dynamo controlling possession, while Zorya tried to press high. In the 7th minute, Slesar fired a low shot from distance, but Bushchan collected the ball without difficulty. In response, Yarmolenko shot from the right side of the penalty area in the 16th minute, but his effort was blocked.
In the middle of the half, both teams played cautiously, with Dynamo enjoying more possession. In the 32nd minute, Zorya created the most dangerous chance of the first half: after Nesterenko’s cross, Slesar laid the ball off for Popara, who hit the crossbar, with the ball bouncing back into play. Shortly afterwards, Ponomarenko played Brazhko into a shooting position, but he fired over the bar. As a result, the teams went into the break with the score still goalless.
After the break, Dynamo continued to control possession. In the 51st minute, Ponomarenko beat Yanich in the centre of the penalty area and shot towards the left corner, but Saputin parried the effort. Two minutes later, Lonwijk fired a low shot towards the near corner after Shaparenko’s pass, but the Zorya goalkeeper saved his team once again.
In the 61st minute, former Dynamo player Gerson Rodrigues, who had signed a contract with Zorya just days earlier, produced a dangerous shot from the left flank, directing the ball towards the near post, but Bushchan parried the effort. Dynamo responded with a good shot from Lonwijk from the semicircle outside the penalty area, after which the ball flew just wide of the right post.
In the 78th minute, Ba created a chance for himself. The Ivorian received the ball on the right side of the penalty area, cut inside and, with no defender closing him down, aimed for the far corner, but after Keasse’s powerful effort, the ball unfortunately went wide.
And in the 83rd minute, the White and Blues finally got their reward. After Pikhalonok’s cross from the left flank, Junior Reis headed the ball out of the penalty area. Brazhko reacted first and unleashed a powerful shot. The ball clipped Yanich’s leg on its way and flew straight into the top corner – 1:0.
The Luhansk side pushed forward in search of an equalizer. In the 84th minute, Budkivskyi had a good opportunity, shooting from the semicircle outside the penalty area, but Brazhko blocked the effort. And literally in the very next attack, Dynamo doubled their lead. The White and Blues broke forward on a quick counterattack, Voloshyn drew two defenders towards him and rolled the ball into the area around the penalty spot, from where Ponomarenko finished into an almost empty net – 2:0.
The final minutes were emotional, but Dynamo held on to their advantage, keeping a clean sheet for the fourth consecutive match, and added another three points to their tally. The international break now awaits, while the White and Blues will play their next match on October 10 (provisional date), when they host Karpaty Lviv.
UPL, Round 7
Zorya – Dynamo – 0:2 (0:0)
19.09.2026. Kyiv, Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium
Zorya: Saputin – Perduta, Jordan, Janic, Macheliuk (Junior Reis, 78), Slesar (Hlushchenko, 78), Boiko (Gerson Rodrigues, 56), Popara (Budkivskyi, 56), Basic, Jelavic (Italo, 74) – Nesterenko.
Dynamo: Bushchan – Malysh (Pikhalonok, 80), Kędziora, Mykhavko, Dubinchak – Lonwijk (Mykhailenko, 88), Brazhko, Shaparenko (Rubchynskyi, 63), Yarmolenko (Voloshyn, 63), Kabaiev (Bah, 46) – Ponomarenko.
Goals: Brazhko (83), Ponomarenko (86).
Booked: Jordan (80), Budkivskyi (88), Hlushchenko (90+2) – Mykhavko (88).
