From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.
Market8 Feb 2027
“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.
Match6 Feb 2027
A bad afternoon for Podillia against Feniks
1‑2 to Feniks, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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 dugout8 Feb 2027
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 Dmytro Stepanenko to a room that had heard them before.
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Vladyslav Shershen
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Vladyslav Shershen has come out of that comparison in the side, and Podillia have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Feb 2027
There were 9 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.
Match30 Jan 2027
0‑3 to Bukovyna, 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Podillia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match30 Jan 2027
Podillia 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Podillia
Anton Savin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Nobody left the Podillia dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Podillia
A 0‑4 beating by Prykarpattia was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match25 Jan 2027
Podillia are in real trouble now
Position 14, 19 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match23 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Podillia
8 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
“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 Podillia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Jan 2027
Podillia 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladyslav Shapoval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Podillia deserved better, and so did he.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Anton Savin 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadym Shavrin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmytro Stepanenko after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
One booking too many, and Oleksandr Snizhko sits out. Podillia lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Looking ahead18 Jan 2027
Prykarpattia next, and one man in the Podillia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match9 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Podillia
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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Podillia
Anton Savin 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market11 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Yaroslav Rebrov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Vadym Shavrin
“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 dugout11 Jan 2027
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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Dmytro Stepanenko to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market4 Jan 2027
“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.
Match2 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Podillia
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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Podillia
Anton Savin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Vadym Shavrin will call it something else in private.
Match2 Jan 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Dmytro Stepanenko was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Podillia dressing room was either.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Pavlo Savchuk 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market28 Dec 2026
“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.
Match26 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Match26 Dec 2026
4 matches without a goal for Podillia
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
163% of the income goes out in wages at Podillia
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.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
He is 20 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
Anton Savin 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Dec 2026
The goals have deserted Podillia
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podillia can tell you which week it ends in.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
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.
Match19 Dec 2026
A bad afternoon for Podillia against UCSA
0‑1 to UCSA, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Dmytro Stepanenko to a room that had heard them before.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Podillia
Yaroslav Protsenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Anton Savin 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 Podillia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rostyslav Baran, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead21 Dec 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Metalurh Zaporizhzhia in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Podillia
Anton Savin 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladyslav Shapoval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
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 Dmytro Stepanenko left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
No hiding place for Nazar Lys
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nazar Lys, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead14 Dec 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against UCSA in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The plan did not have a place for Vadym Shavrin
Nobody at Podillia is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Nazar Lys wants out of the dugout
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Podillia will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 10. 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Podillia
Anton Savin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vadym Shavrin, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
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 dugout7 Dec 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmytro Stepanenko after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Vladyslav Shkinder is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Looking ahead7 Dec 2026
Metalist next, and one man in the Podillia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Nov 2026
The drought breaks for Podillia
12 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Probiy were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad30 Nov 2026
6 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
“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 Podillia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
165% of the income goes out in wages at Podillia
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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Probiy made Podillia work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadym Shavrin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 8.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.
Match21 Nov 2026
The goals have deserted Podillia
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podillia can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Anton Savin 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
A mark of 7.49, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Chernihiv will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Nov 2026
11 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Anton Savin beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 36. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Podillia
Anton Savin 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.
Match14 Nov 2026
The goals have deserted Podillia
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podillia can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladyslav Shapoval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A mark of 7.32, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Match14 Nov 2026
Point won or two lost for Podillia?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Victoriia Sumy? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match7 Nov 2026
10 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Podillia can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Podillia
Anton Savin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Vadym Shavrin 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.
Match9 Nov 2026
Podillia at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 12, 12 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Anton Savin
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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Nazar Lys
“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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Dmytro Stepanenko after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nowhere to hide for Podillia
0‑3 against Livyi Bereh, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A muscle injury and 16 days out for Yaroslav Kvasov
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Podillia will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
165% of the income goes out in wages at Podillia
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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Podillia dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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 0‑3 Dmytro Stepanenko left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Oct 2026
8 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Anton Savin 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Anton Savin beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladyslav Shapoval 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Vadym Shavrin
“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.
Match24 Oct 2026
A goal on 88 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Squad26 Oct 2026
8 new faces, and Podillia are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
A promise honoured at Podillia
Something was said to Vladyslav Shkinder and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Match24 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Feniks leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑4 by Bukovyna, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match17 Oct 2026
7 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
There were 7 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podillia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Podillia
Anton Savin 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Podillia are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad19 Oct 2026
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Oct 2026
Chastening afternoon for Podillia
A 0‑3 beating by Prykarpattia was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market12 Oct 2026
“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.
Match10 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Podillia
Anton Savin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladyslav Shapoval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kostiantyn Lunyov 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.
Boardroom12 Oct 2026
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 dugout12 Oct 2026
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 0‑3 Dmytro Stepanenko left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
Podillia throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Chornomorets the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Podillia will enjoy reviewing.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.96, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad5 Oct 2026
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.
Market5 Oct 2026
“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.
Match3 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Podillia
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Oct 2026
Chornomorets left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 214% of the Podillia 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
0‑3 to Inhulets, 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Anton Savin 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Vadym Shavrin
“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.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
8 new faces, and Podillia are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Dmytro Stepanenko after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Looking ahead28 Sep 2026
A test against the best for Podillia
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Chornomorets.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.85, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Podillia
Anton Savin 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Level with 95 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Podillia had all but put away. Ahrobiznes will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Anton Savin beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match19 Sep 2026
It needed Oleksandr Snizhko 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 dugout21 Sep 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“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 ahead21 Sep 2026
Inhulets next, and one man in the Podillia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Sep 2026
Podillia throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Metalurh Zaporizhzhia the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Podillia will enjoy reviewing.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 8.16 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
At 36 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.87, and nobody on the pitch better.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 19 in, 0 out at Podillia
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 19 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Serhiy Kovalenko 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Anton Haiduchok 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Ponomarenko, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Podillia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Anton Demchenko is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Podillia will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Match5 Sep 2026
Podillia caught on 87 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then UCSA scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Anton Savin beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 7.84. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
A promise honoured at Podillia
Something was said to Yaroslav Kvasov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Match5 Sep 2026
Podillia and UCSA take a point apiece
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 Aug 2026
Podillia bow out of the cup
Metalist go through and Podillia go home, 2‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Anton Demchenko takes the afternoon — 8.69
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Anton Demchenko provided it, and the 8.69 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Anton Savin 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladyslav Shapoval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Podillia asked and Obolon said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
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.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
8 new faces, and Podillia are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Podillia
Anton Savin 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Podillia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladyslav Shapoval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.02 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match22 Aug 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rostyslav Baran, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Dmytro Stepanenko chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Looking ahead24 Aug 2026
Metalist next, and one man in the Podillia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Anton Yevdokymov 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. Anton Yevdokymov has, at Podillia, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dynamo Kyiv is saying, and nobody at Podillia is enjoying the guessing.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Podillia
Anton Savin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match15 Aug 2026
Three points for Podillia, 1‑0 the final word against Probiy in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Vadym Shavrin 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 8.04. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Podillia.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Podillia will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Anton Savin 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Davronbek Azizov and Podillia agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Vladyslav Shapoval 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Chernihiv left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Viktor Babenko 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Vitaliy Karavayev 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Kyrylo Makarenko is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vladyslav Sobol is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anton Savin commits to Podillia for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Aug 2026
Victoriia Sumy left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Vadym Shavrin 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Podillia, another week without a signature from Anton Savin.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Metalist: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Podillia are still strangers to each other
6 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.