Maksym Kovalenko

Goalkeeper - Kryvbas
28 Aug 2027
Saturday
Process

Marked for Maksym Kovalenko

49 Edition

The Kryvbas Post

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Terms done: Nazar Popov is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Victoriia Sumy waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kryvbas is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Kryvbas walk away from Ajdi Dajko

$4.1M was the most the club would pay and LNZ were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Squad

Volodymyr Mulyk is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Dmytro Matsapura signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dmytro Matsapura and Kryvbas agree another 3 years.

Market

Maksym Kovalenko is a Kryvbas player

The fee is $170.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Probiy drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Squad

Yvan Dibango in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kryvbas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Joseph Jones attracts admirers

The name of Joseph Jones has come up in conversations Kryvbas were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Vitalii Katrych

Kryvbas asked and Kolos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A row about effort at Kryvbas

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denys Popov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

Back issues
49 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Danylo Sobol out for 35 days

35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Probiy lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Volodymyr Ivanychuk is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Kostiantyn Kvas

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Probiy have done the hard part with Nyva, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Market

Business is business: Vladyslav Felipovych goes

Rukh paid $200.0K and Probiy took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Market

Probiy sell Maksym Kovalenko for $170.0K

Maksym Kovalenko has left for Kryvbas in a $170.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Transfer targets

Probiy rebuffed over Daniil Volskyi

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bukovyna have kept their man, and Probiy go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Ruslan Kharuk and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ihor Huk

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Illia Olkhovyi is in the works

Probiy have made the call to Dynamo Kyiv. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

48 Edition

The Kryvbas Post

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Terms done: Matvii Bodnar is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Feniks waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kryvbas is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

Kryvbas sign Pablo Castro for $1.0M

The paperwork is done: Pablo Castro joins from UCSA in a deal worth $1.0M. Now comes the harder part.

Squad

The step up is real for Volodymyr Vilivald

At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad

Yvan Dibango signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yvan Dibango and Kryvbas agree another 4 years.

Market

Kryvbas sign Dmytro Matsapura for $210.0K

The paperwork is done: Dmytro Matsapura joins from Kolos in a deal worth $210.0K. Now comes the harder part.

Transfer targets

An offer of $170.0K for Maksym Kovalenko

Kryvbas have gone to Probiy with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

Kryvbas bid $170.0K for Ajdi Dajko

The offer went to LNZ this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

A falling-out at Kryvbas

Yvan Dibango and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Late improvement for Araujo

At 24 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.

In brief

48 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Eduard Sobol out for 32 days

32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Probiy lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Terms done: Vladyslav Felipovych is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Rukh waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Probiy is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

Not going: Maksym Kovalenko stays at Probiy

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Nyva had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Probiy

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Roman Borysevych hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Vladyslav Zakharchenko is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Andrii Fesenko in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Vladyslav Felipovych has improved at 26, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Adam Yakubu

Probiy asked and Dynamo Kyiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

47 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Eduard Sobol out for 39 days

39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Probiy lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Volodymyr Radulskyi asks to leave Probiy

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Ruslan Tkachenko is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Market

Business is business: Maksym Hirnyi goes

Oleksandriya paid $190.0K and Probiy took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad

A late step up for Ihor Huk

At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Bohdan Kovalenko

Probiy asked and Ahrobiznes said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Ruslan Kharuk in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Bohdan Orynchak's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Boardroom

Belts tighten at Probiy

The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.

In brief

43 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Probiy, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Andrii Fesenko was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mykyta Dzen

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Volodymyr Radulskyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Bohdan Orynchak is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

Boardroom

Probiy counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Probiy now.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Probiy will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Maksym Hirnyi knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Probiy, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Mykyta Dzen linked with a move away

The name of Mykyta Dzen keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Probiy say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

39 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Roman Borysevych puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Probiy, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Danylo Udod and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Bohdan Orynchak's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Boardroom

Belts tighten at Probiy

The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maksym Kovalenko is on it.

Squad

Vladyslav Babanin falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

35 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Nazar Havryliuk damages knee ligaments — 17 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

The dugout

Roman Borysevych keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Probiy may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words at Probiy training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Volodymyr Radulskyi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Maksym Hirnyi gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Mark Isong and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Bohdan Orynchak's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Boardroom

Belts tighten at Probiy

The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maksym Kovalenko is on it.

Market

The Mykyta Dzen story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mykyta Dzen signs something — a contract at Probiy or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

31 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Roman Borysevych puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Probiy, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych attracts admirers

The name of Vladyslav Felipovych has come up in conversations Probiy were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

The dugout

Roman Serdiuk: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Probiy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 2 in, 0 out at Probiy

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Danylo Udod was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout

The manager has not finished forgetting Bohdan Orynchak's mistake

Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.

Boardroom

Probiy counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Probiy now.

The dugout

When it matters, Maksym Kovalenko plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

Squad

Probiy take the armband off Roman Borysevych

It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.

In brief

29 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Probiy

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

The dugout

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news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Boardroom

Probiy to lose Mykhaylo Kozhushko for free

There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Mykhaylo Kozhushko has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.

Squad

Andrii Fesenko in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Maksym Kovalenko

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Volodymyr Radulskyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Andrii Bliznichenko runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Probiy

Something was said to Ihor Huk and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ruslan Kulach was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Probiy dressing room was either.

In brief

28 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

17 saves: Maksym Kovalenko was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 17 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Volodymyr Radulskyi puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Probiy, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

4 matches without a win for Probiy

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Probiy are no longer polite ones.

Match

Metalist take the points off Probiy

Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Market

Probiy promote Danylo Sobol from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Danylo Sobol has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

The dugout

Mykyta Dzen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Ruslan Kulach answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

A falling-out at Probiy

Mark Isong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Maksym Hirnyi beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

27 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych asks to leave Probiy

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Player ratings

Andrii Fesenko runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Danylo Udod was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces

One of their own: Danylo Udod

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Squad

Words at Probiy training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Volodymyr Radulskyi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The dugout

Roman Borysevych gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Danylo Udod

A mark of 7.37, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

Boardroom

Probiy counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Probiy now.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Ruslan Kulach on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief

26 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Probiy

A 1‑4 beating by Chornomorets was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Danylo Udod and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Volodymyr Radulskyi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

One of those days for Andrii Bliznichenko

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Boardroom

Wages eat 119% of everything Probiy earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

The dugout

No place for Mykyta Dzen on the big day

He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Probiy pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

Boardroom

Inquest at Probiy

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Ruslan Kulach to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

No hiding place for Nazar Havryliuk

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nazar Havryliuk, and the manager let it.

In brief

22 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Probiy

13 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Player ratings

Both of them Valentyn Napuda's — 8.93

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.93, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

6 saves: Maksym Kovalenko was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Andrii Fesenko was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 200% of the Probiy income

Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.

The terraces

Probiy supporters have found a favourite in Valentyn Napuda

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Valentyn Napuda has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

The dugout

No hiding place for Maksym Kovalenko

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maksym Kovalenko, and the manager let it.

Match

Two points walk out of the ground

Level with 94 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Probiy had all but put away. Livyi Bereh will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.

Match

Probiy and Livyi Bereh take a point apiece

It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

  • The dugout Maksym Kovalenko gets picked when it counts
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Mykyta Dzen knocks on the manager's door
21 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Probiy

12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Valentyn Napuda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces

One of their own: Volodymyr Ivanychuk

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

The dugout

No hiding place for Roman Borysevych

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roman Borysevych, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Volodymyr Ivanychuk takes the honours

Marked 7.94 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Probiy had the best player on the pitch.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Andrii Bliznichenko

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Probiy share the spoils with Feniks

A 1‑1 draw with Feniks leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ruslan Kulach was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Probiy dressing room was either.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Probiy, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

20 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Probiy

11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Maksym Kovalenko keeps Probiy in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Volodymyr Radulskyi asks to leave Probiy

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Danylo Udod in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Bukovyna take the points off Probiy

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Market

Valentyn Kravets steps up from the Probiy academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Valentyn Kravets has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ruslan Kharuk

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ruslan Kharuk, and the manager let it.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Ruslan Kulach to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

Roman Borysevych knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Roman Borysevych trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

18 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Probiy's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Probiy has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Danylo Udod and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Orynchak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

198% of the income goes out in wages at Probiy

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Match

A bad afternoon for Probiy against Podillia

0‑1 to Podillia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

Ruslan Kulach: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

Maksym Hirnyi gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maksym Kovalenko is on it.

In brief

16 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Volodymyr Radulskyi asks to leave Probiy

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Match

7 matches without a win for Probiy

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Probiy are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Valentyn Napuda at 21 — 8.09

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Valentyn Napuda did not need any: 8.09, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

A falling-out at Probiy

Andrii Fesenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Orynchak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Maksym Kovalenko

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Probiy

Something was said to Roman Borysevych and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

Match

Valentyn Napuda rescues a point for Probiy

It needed Valentyn Napuda to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ahrobiznes, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Ruslan Kulach on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief

14 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Roman Serdiuk

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

The dugout

Volodymyr Savchyn keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Probiy may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Boardroom

The Probiy board want somebody sold

The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.

Match

No end in sight to Probiy's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Probiy has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Probiy

4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

Valentyn Napuda in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

198% of the income goes out in wages at Probiy

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Match

UCSA take the points off Probiy

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

13 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Probiy taken apart

0‑4 to Metalist, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Squad

Maksym Kovalenko stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

The dugout

Volodymyr Barabanov keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Probiy may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A falling-out at Probiy

Danylo Udod and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Orynchak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Probiy

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

The dugout

Ruslan Kulach answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout

Volodymyr Ivanychuk gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Mark Isong left out for tactical reasons at Probiy

The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

In brief

12 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Volodymyr Radulskyi hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Danylo Udod in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Probiy training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Orynchak is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Probiy come up short against Vorskla

Vorskla left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Ruslan Kharuk was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Ruslan Kulach left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

Ihor Sirenko gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Looking ahead

Maksym Kovalenko faces his old club

Metalist next, and one man in the Probiy dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

Market

The Mykyta Dzen question follows Probiy around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mykyta Dzen’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

10 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Both of them Valentyn Napuda's — 9.10

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.10, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

A move Simon Esosa Aibangbee would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Simon Esosa Aibangbee is living that version at Probiy, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Danylo Udod and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

Bohdan Orynchak falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 249% of the Probiy income

Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.

Match

Valentyn Napuda sends Probiy past Chernihiv

It finished 2‑0, and it was Valentyn Napuda’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Probiy.

Squad

Simon Esosa Aibangbee signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Simon Esosa Aibangbee and Probiy agree another 3 years.

Market

A long bet from Probiy on Simon Esosa Aibangbee

He is 20, and nobody at Probiy signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

In brief

9 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for Probiy

Position 14 and 6 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Mykyta Dzen at 21 — 8.14

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mykyta Dzen did not need any: 8.14, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Match

Probiy end the wait against Victoriia Sumy

It had gone 9 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Transfer targets

Simon Esosa Aibangbee turns down Probiy

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Squad

Andrii Fesenko in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Orynchak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The terraces

One of their own: Valentyn Napuda

He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Market

No place for Maksym Kovalenko in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Maksym Kovalenko has his answer from Probiy; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Match

Mykyta Dzen sends Probiy past Victoriia Sumy

It finished 1‑0, and it was Mykyta Dzen’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Probiy.

In brief

8 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Probiy's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Probiy has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Volodymyr Radulskyi asks to leave Probiy

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

A falling-out at Probiy

Andrii Fesenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Nyva take the points off Probiy

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Maksym Kovalenko

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

The dugout

Ruslan Kulach: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Andrii Bliznichenko

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Mark Isong wants out of the dugout

“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Probiy will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.

Player ratings

The chances came and went for Valentyn Napuda

9 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.

In brief

7 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Maksym Kovalenko hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Match

8 matches without a win for Probiy

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Probiy are no longer polite ones.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Probiy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 15 in, 0 out at Probiy

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad

Words at Probiy training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Orynchak is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Mark Isong and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Market

One of our own: Ruslan Mykhailychenko joins the Probiy first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ruslan Mykhailychenko is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

One of our own: Roman Tsygankov joins the Probiy first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Roman Tsygankov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Match

Probiy refuse to lose to Livyi Bereh

A point taken on 93 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

In brief

6 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Probiy can pretend not to have heard.

Match

7 matches without a win for Probiy

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Probiy are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Mark Isong arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Mark Isong has, at Probiy, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Danylo Udod and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Player ratings

Andrii Bliznichenko was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Bohdan Orynchak falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Probiy are still strangers to each other

7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

Market

Probiy buy the years ahead of Mark Isong

He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Maksym Kovalenko

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

In brief

5 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Probiy through in the cup

A 2‑2 win over Dynamo Kyiv, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Squad

Maksym Kovalenko decides it from twelve yards

1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Match

The wait goes on for Probiy

6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Player ratings

Valentyn Napuda, 21, steals the show — 7.66

Marked 7.66 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Oswaldo Valencia rejects the move

Probiy had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Mitre, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Match

Probiy come up short against Bukovyna

Bukovyna left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Valentyn Napuda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Late, late show earns Probiy a point

Minute 122, against Dynamo Kyiv, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.

The dugout

Stanislav Oksenenko gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

4 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Andrii Drekalo puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Probiy, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

Şerban Tomache turns down Probiy

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Match

No end in sight to Probiy's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Probiy has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Probiy cannot find the net

4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.

Squad

A row about effort at Probiy

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bohdan Orynchak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Probiy come up short against Prykarpattia

Prykarpattia left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ruslan Kharuk

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ruslan Kharuk, and the manager let it.

Squad

Danylo Udod in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Ruslan Kulach answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

3 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Words exchanged at Probiy

Andrii Fesenko and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match

Probiy cannot find the net

3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.

Squad

Stanislav Oksenenko stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Stanislav Oksenenko and Probiy agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Transfer targets

Probiy rebuffed over Ihnat Pushkutsa

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Veres have kept their man, and Probiy go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Player ratings

Andrii Bliznichenko runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

A bad afternoon for Probiy against Podillia

0‑1 to Podillia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

No hiding place for Maksym Kovalenko

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maksym Kovalenko, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Ruslan Kulach answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Market

A long bet from Probiy on Stanislav Oksenenko

He is 20, and nobody at Probiy signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

In brief

2 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Vladyslav Felipovych puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Probiy, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

Danylo Udod is a medical away from Probiy

The deal with Shakhtar is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.

Squad

Andrii Fesenko in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Probiy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Oleksandr Kulach steps up from the Probiy academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Oleksandr Kulach has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Probiy promote Stanislav Bondar from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Stanislav Bondar has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Dmytro Boyko steps up from the Probiy academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Dmytro Boyko has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Match

Probiy come up short against Inhulets

Inhulets left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

No place for Mykyta Dzen in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Probiy are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ruslan Kulach left the room before anybody could ask which.

In brief

1 Edition

The Probiy Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Mykyta Dzen arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Mykyta Dzen has, at Probiy, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Squad

Andrii Bliznichenko signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrii Bliznichenko commits to Probiy for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Probiy

Andrii Fesenko was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Probiy training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bohdan Orynchak is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market

Probiy and Bohdan Orynchak are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

A long bet from Probiy on Mykhaylo Kozhushko

He is 20, and nobody at Probiy signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Ruslan Kulach on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

Match

Point won or two lost for Probiy?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Ahrobiznes? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

The dugout

Maksym Kovalenko does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

In brief