From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 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.
Squad21 Dec 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Illia Ukhan: 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.” Poltava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Mazinho
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Ihor Kotsiumaka: 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.” Poltava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
A performance of 9.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match12 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arsentiy Doroshenko. 2‑0 against Kolos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 8.31 — 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.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Poltava, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maksym Marusych, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Dec 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Daniil Yermolov: 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.” Poltava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Oleksandr Vivdych 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Metalist left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Mykola Buzhyn
“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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniil Yermolov and Poltava agree another 3 years.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Poltava, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Nov 2026
Poltava sink to position 14
12 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market30 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 64 days on the sidelines for Oleksandr Piatov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Nov 2026
It finished 3‑2, and it was Daniil Sukhoruchko’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Poltava.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 9.42 — 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
149% of the income goes out in wages at Poltava
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.
Squad30 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Market23 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Nov 2026
Dynamo Kyiv left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.62, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yevhen Misiura, and the manager let it.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
A mark of 5.41 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
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.
Market16 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Match4 Nov 2026
Poltava bow out of the cup
Zorya go through and Poltava go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Market9 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match7 Nov 2026
0‑2 to Oleksandriya, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. 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
The manager makes an example of Mazinho
“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.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I watch every Poltava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Obolon runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad9 Nov 2026
At 20 years old, Yan Shevchenko became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Oct 2026
10 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Match2 Nov 2026
Poltava sink to position 14
9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market2 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Poltava know it.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
149% of the income goes out in wages at Poltava
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.
Match31 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Epicentr, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladyslav Danylenko, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
9 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.
Market26 Oct 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.19, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Oct 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match24 Oct 2026
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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 ratings19 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Maksym Marusych
“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.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Epicentr to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Match17 Oct 2026
Poltava and Obolon cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Obolon came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
5.63 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
7 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Valerii Voskonyan 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 ratings12 Oct 2026
Marked 8.94 — 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmytro Plakhtyr, and the manager let it.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I watch every Poltava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Obolon runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Poltava, and it is a cruel one.
Match10 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Polissia leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Poltava that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 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 Poltava can pretend not to have heard.
Match3 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 252% of everything Poltava 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ihor Kotsiumaka commits to Poltava for another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Sep 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 Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match28 Sep 2026
Every point is an argument now for Poltava
Position 14 and 5 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Poltava against Karpaty
2‑3 to Karpaty, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Mykola Buzhyn
“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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.55, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Market21 Sep 2026
Poltava say no — this time
The offer from Metalurh Zaporizhzhia for Andrii Pustovit was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Match19 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch21 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Epicentr to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Illia Ukhan, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Sep 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Mykyta Minchev reports back to Poltava with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Volodymyr Odariuk, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Poltava, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Match12 Sep 2026
Poltava draw a blank against LNZ
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. LNZ defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad14 Sep 2026
At 18 years old, Andrii Pustovit became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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 ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 9.08 — 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
274% of the income goes out in wages at Poltava
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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 8.24 — 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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Diego Celis
“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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Poltava and Rukh 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Aug 2026
Poltava through in the cup
A 2‑0 win over Obolon, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Dmytro Plakhtyr, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Valerii Voskonyan 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 ratings31 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.76, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.78, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.75 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market31 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Poltava have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad31 Aug 2026
No hiding place for Mazinho
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mazinho, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Aug 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Match22 Aug 2026
Metalist left with the points after a 4‑5 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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 ratings24 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.84, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mykyta Kononov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.10 — 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
Market17 Aug 2026
Rukh come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Poltava did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valerii Voskonyan, and the manager let it.
Match15 Aug 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Veres leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad17 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Poltava have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Valerii Voskonyan 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
1‑2 to Dynamo Kyiv, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.74, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Aug 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Dmytro Plakhtyr’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Poltava, another week without a signature from Arsentiy Doroshenko.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A mark of 5.68 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
57 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Volodymyr Odariuk commits to Poltava for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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 ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match1 Aug 2026
0‑2 to Shakhtar, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.