U18 League

Dnipro-Arena
Spectators: 159 (Terracing: 120, Seating: 36, VIP seats: 3) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Ivan Lysytsjkyi started the match with the kick off. After 3 minutes, Ivan Lysytsjkyi made it 1-0 with a short kick to the right side. Курск ФК's Mikhail Ivanchuk tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Vasiliy Prankov's late challenge caught a FC Vershina ESPN's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Vasiliy Prankov helped the player get up and apologised. Vasiliy Prankov hit a great freekick 10 minutes into the match. Ivan Lysytsjkyi fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 11th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mikhail Ivanchuk having to interfere. In the 12th match minute, Курск ФК was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Vasiliy Prankov to maneuver through the defense. In the 15th minute, Ivan Lysytsjkyi got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Volodymyr Beletskyi struck a weak shot in the 17th minute. Mikhail Ivanchuk didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for FC Vershina ESPN. Mikhail Ivanchuk showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ivan Lysytsjkyi, who was totally free with the ball in the 18th minute. Artem Gordya showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gennadiy Lonchakov, who was totally free with the ball in the 20th minute. If Ivan Lysytsjkyi had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 25th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 26 minutes, Danila Prokopenko mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Курск ФК and the FC Vershina ESPN players grew even worse after the yellow card. The supporters of FC Vershina ESPN booed when Курск ФК was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 26 match minutes in a wonderful position. Danila Prokopenko didn't get a good kick on the ball. Ivan Lysytsjkyi blasted a shot towards the goal in the 29th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Mikhail Ivanchuk having to make a save. Mykhaylo Gladiy charged in rather forcefully in the 31st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Mykhaylo Gladiy the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Курск ФК booed when FC Vershina ESPN was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 32 match minutes in a wonderful position. Mykhaylo Gladiy didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dmitriy Kulyukin in the 33rd minute of play forced FC Vershina ESPN's goalkeeper Artem Gordya to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 37 minutes into the match, Курск ФК's goalkeeper Mikhail Ivanchuk had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Volodymyr Beletskyi. With a little luck, Курск ФК's Mikhail Ivanchuk got control of the ball when Volodymyr Beletskyi tried to sneak it across the goal line. Volodymyr Beletskyi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 42nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Курск ФК's defense didn't have a chance, in the 46th minute, when Ivan Lysytsjkyi scored to the left of an out of position Mikhail Ivanchuk, making the score, 2-1. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-1 at half-time.

The wind increased when Gennadiy Lonchakov made the kick off in the second half. Artem Gordya showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gennadiy Lonchakov, who was totally free with the ball in the 52nd minute. In a very dangerous position, a player in FC Vershina ESPN fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 53rd minute. Penalty! When the match had been going on for 54 minutes, Курск ФК's Lev Trofimov got an opportunity to shoot a penalty. He stayed cool and waited for the goalkeeper to move, before he confidently shot the ball into the goal, to the left of Artem Gordya. Ivan Lysytsjkyi struck a weak shot in the 58th minute. Mikhail Ivanchuk didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for FC Vershina ESPN. 60 minutes into the match, Курск ФК's goal looked a bit too open when Ivan Lysytsjkyi came free, but Mikhail Ivanchuk reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When the match had gone on for 65 minutes, Gennadiy Lonchakov took a quick shot and it went in 2-3 without a chance for Artem Gordya to make any attempt to save it. When Dmitriy Kulyukin came up free with the goalie in the 70th minute, the Курск ФК fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Dmitriy Kulyukin couldn't finish the play. Gennadiy Lonchakov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 74th minute. Artem Gordya tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Курск ФК's zone, Volodymyr Beletskyi stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Mikhail Ivanchuk came out of the goal and Volodymyr Beletskyi tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 79 minutes into the match, Volodymyr Beletskyi had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Mikhail Ivanchuk. Курск ФК's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Volodymyr Beletskyi was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-3. The audience thought a goal was coming when Dmitriy Kulyukin got free with Artem Gordya in the 85th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After having played for 87 minutes, Dmitriy Kulyukin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Курск ФК's supporters crossed their fingers, but Dmitriy Kulyukin was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 90th minute, Nikita Kutepov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 93rd minute, Ivan Lysytsjkyi made a precise shot to the right of Mikhail Ivanchuk. Курск ФК's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 5-3. Dmitriy Kulyukin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 96th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Artem Gordya having to interfere. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. FC Vershina ESPN had won after a very even match.