The desire to participate in the first preliminary stage of the Vbet Cup of Ukraine for the 2024/2025 season was shown by 17 clubs from the First League, 13 teams from the Second League, and two amateur teams.

The cup tournament has its own rules. It is popular among fans due to its unpredictability, when less renowned clubs force more prestigious ones to capitulate. And today, in the opening matches, there were no surprises missing.

First of all, let's give credit to the amateurs from FC "Mykolaiv" in Lviv region who forced a First League mid-table team, "Agrobiznes," to withdraw. The hosts took the lead at halftime and confidently defended against their guests after the break. The score remained unchanged — 1:0.

And nearby, in Morsyn, another representative of the Khmelnytskyi region — "Epitsentr" — was also disappointed. Guests from "Skala 1911" were not intimidated by the fact that their coach, Serhiy Nagornyak's team, recently competed for a spot in the UPL. They played actively and deservedly won — 2:0.

By the way, today Podillya was close to having all its First League teams end their fight for honor. Players from "Podillia" in Ivano-Frankivsk managed to secure a lucky ticket only in a penalty shootout against newcomer to the Second League, "Revero 1908."

And another newcomer to the Second League, "Kulikiv," proved more adept at this so-called football lottery than Vinnytsia's "Niva." As for players from "Vilkhivtsi" in Zakarpattya, they conceded to "Metalist" in a penalty shootout.

Second League team "Hirnyk-Sport" secured an upset victory over more renowned FC "Mariupol." Guests opened the scoring, but hosts scored three times in the second half. The brace was completed by newcomer to the team from Horyshni Plavni, Artem Onyshchenko, who came on as a substitute.

A tight battle unfolded in Ternopil where "Niva" hosted "Bukovyna." Opponents exchanged goals early in the match. No further goals were scored and teams had to resort to penalties to determine the winner. The guests were more accurate from the spot.

And the first goal of the current tournament was recorded by Paraguayan player Pablo Castro Gonzalez, who opened the scoring for FC "YUKSA" in their match against FC "Real Pharma" at the 28th minute. Guests celebrated with Latin American players, including Brazilian Wendel, who sealed the victory — 3:0. This match will be remembered because both club presidents came on as substitutes — Odesa's Mykola Lykhovidov and Serhiy Lesnyk from Tarasivka.

Vbet Cup of Ukraine-2024/2025. First Preliminary Stage: Official Data