The race for the top spots in the first league is heating up. In the fourth round of the championship group, matches between «Left Bank» and «Carpathians», as well as «Inhulets» and «Epizentrum», were crucial for determining the direct qualifiers to the UPL. As often happens in games where six points are at stake, one precise strike decided their fate.

The favorite, «Carpathians», visited Kyiv region and did not allow the hosts to create much. Only towards the end of the match did a Brazilian player named Sydney head in a shot, but the goalkeeper for the green-and-white team, Andriy Kozhukhar, made an impressive save. By then, Lvivians were already leading: a multi-pass combination was finished with a powerful strike by Yevhen Pidlepenets. Jan Kostenko could have scored later on, but his shot hit the crossbar.

Unfortunately, due to injuries, Kyiv's key players Andriy Yakymiv and Vladyslav Voytsekhovskyy had to leave the field. After the final whistle, the head coach of «Left Bank», Vitaliy Perhak, congratulated his team on their victory (1:0) and noted that nothing will prevent them from securing first place.

In Petrivka, two more clubs from the top group settled their standings. At the 60th minute, «Epizentrum» was reduced to ten men after Ahmed Alibekov received a second yellow card, and six minutes later, «Inhulets» capitalized on the numerical advantage when Maxim Melnychuk scored the winning goal. 1:0.

It is worth noting that in the next round, attention will again be focused on matches involving this quartet — «Carpathians» vs «Inhulets» and «Epizentrum» vs «Left Bank».

Meanwhile, in the relegation group, «Bukovyna» failed to win again, although they continue to lead the table. The recent leader, «Metallurg», also suffered another defeat and now faces a serious threat of being relegated due to significant personnel losses.

Match results and league standings