Kyiv's Dynamo continued to drop points in the Ukrainian championship. In the 5th round of the Premier League, the "blues" failed to beat Cherkasy's LNZ at home, ending in a goalless 0:0 draw. This is reported by Sport RBC.UA. For a team that suffered a crushing defeat against Bukovyna in the previous round, this result became yet another step backward in the fight for the lead.
Squad reshuffle after the setback
Following the loss to Bukovyna, the Kyiv coaching staff reshuffled the lineup. Georgiy Bushan returned to goal, having just joined the team on loan from Polissya and immediately made the starting XI. Vyacheslav Surkis was left out of the squad, while team captain Vitaly Buyalsky missed the match due to injury.
Match flow: two goalkeepers and missed chances
In the first half, the Kyiv side created a clear-cut chance: after Andriy Yarmolenko's failed shot and Matvey Ponomarenko's cross, Justin Lonwijk fired straight at Cherkasy's goalkeeper Dmytro Ledviy from close range. The game picked up in the second half — LNZ's goalkeeper neutralized dangerous shots from Valentin Rubchinsky and Yarmolenko, while Bushan made a crucial save, pulling a difficult ball down from the crossbar after a shot by Denys Kuzik.
Disallowed goal and a squad problem
In the 59th minute, the ball did find the back of the visitors' net: Ponomarenko took advantage of Yarmolenko's pass and beat the goalkeeper. However, after reviewing the video replay, the referee disallowed the goal due to a minimal offside by the forward. In addition to losing points, the Kyiv side also faced a squad problem: Oleksiy Sych had to leave the pitch midway through the second half with a knee injury, being replaced by Navin Malish.
Bigger picture in the tournament
Thus, Dynamo once again dropped points in the championship. In the same 5th round of the UPL, Shakhtar secured a come-from-behind victory over Karpaty, which underscores the high level of competition at the top of the table and makes every point loss for the Kyiv side especially painful.
