Slowly, teams from the second-ranked division are building up momentum in preparation for the spring part of the season. Six of them are participating in a tournament organized by the Poltava Football Association in February. The group stage matches are currently underway.

We highlight the players from "Kremenya" who have secured three consecutive wins, including a victory over hometown rivals from "Girnyk-Sport" — 5:1.

The match between SK "Poltava" and FSK "Mariupol" was intense. Dangerous moments occurred frequently, but neither team managed to capitalize on them — 0:0.

In the same tournament, "Metallurg" secured a win over Vorskla's juniors — 1:0. Unfortunately, Vladimir Mykytin's wards were not allowed to play scheduled spring matches in Zaporizhzhia, and now club management is considering hosting away games in Dnipro, Kremenchuk, or Horyn Pliavny.

Players from "Left Bank" took the upper hand against "Victoria" (2:0) thanks to accurate shots by Ruslan Dedukh and Andriy Yakymiv. Kyiv's squad has been bolstered by former leader of Chernihiv-SVSM Maxim Serdyuk. As for "Victoria," Yaroslav Halkenko left the team. He will be replaced in attack by Nazarii Nych, who is on loan from LNZ.

"Agrobusiness" ended their friendly matches with second division teams "Sloia 1911" and "Ruh-Him-2" with a score of 1:1 each.

To avoid relegation, "Dinaz" has invited experienced Mikhail Sergiychuk and Ruslan Palamar from Buzytska "Niva."

The main contender for a spot in the Premier League, "Karpaty," will depart on February 9th for a camp that will take place in Zakarpattia. The latest newcomers to Lviv's team are Andriy Bulysa from Shakhtar and Dmytro Yerodovskyy from Metallurg.

The only first division team still on break is "Podillya," but on February 8th, Vitaliy Kostyshyn's wards will start preparing for new challenges.

Match results and league standings

Distribution of participants after the first stage into groups "Champions" and "Relegation"