In an away match of the 11th round of the Ukrainian Championship, Kyiv's Dynamo secured a victory over Kryvbas, defeating the hosts 2:0. Goals by Matviy Ponomarenko and Andriy Yarmolenko proved decisive for the visitors. In this match, Yarmolenko not only scored but also set an all-time UPL scoring record, before leaving his team a man down before halftime. Based on Sport RBC.UA, let's break down the match half by half.
A start dictated by the hosts
Kryvbas played the first half noticeably more actively: in the opening minutes, the hosts created several dangerous chances near Georgiy Bushchan's goal. The biggest threat came from Senegalese forward Sek, who repeatedly found himself one-on-one with the Dynamo goalkeeper but failed to beat him. Gradually, the Kyiv side seized the initiative and shifted the game in their favor.
Two goals and Yarmolenko's record
The visitors scored their first goal in the 18th minute: Mykola Shaparenko intercepted the ball in midfield, launched an attack, and passed to Andriy Yarmolenko, who crossed into the penalty area, allowing Matviy Ponomarenko to head the ball into the net. After a VAR check, the referee awarded the goal — 0:1. In the 43rd minute, the lead was doubled: Kryvbas defender Vilivald held Ponomarenko by the shirt during a cross into the box, and the referee awarded a penalty, which Yarmolenko confidently converted. This strike became the Dynamo captain's 125th in the Ukrainian Championship, allowing him to set an absolute UPL goalscoring record.
Red card and playing with ten men
Even before halftime, Dynamo was reduced to ten men. In stoppage time of the first half, Giovanni made a rough challenge against Oleksandr Tymchyk, stepping on his heel, and a few minutes later, Yarmolenko retaliated with a kick to the opponent's legs, receiving a straight red card. Consequently, the Kyivans were forced to play the entire second half a man down.
Second half: host pressure and Bushchan's saves
After the break, Kryvbas intensified their efforts and tried to reduce the deficit. In the 58th minute, a dangerous long-range shot by Lin took a deflection and nearly ended up behind Bushchan, but the Dynamo goalkeeper tipped the ball over for a corner. In total, the hosts attempted over ten shots in the second half, but only one was on target. On the 74th minute, the match was interrupted due to an air raid alert; after the game resumed, the Kryvyi Rih team continued to attack, but Kyiv held on to their lead and kept a clean sheet.
Aftermath: standings and the Ukrainian Klassiker
Thanks to the victory, Dynamo earned 22 points and rose to third place in the UPL standings, while Kryvbas remains in 15th position with six points. The Kyivans' next championship match will be against Shakhtar Donetsk: the Ukrainian Klassiker will take place on November 8 in Lviv. It is also noted that three UPL matches — Livyi Bereg vs. Bukovyna, LNZ vs. Kharkiv, and Kolos vs. Polissya — were forcibly postponed due to air raid alerts.
