From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Aug 2027
22 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 22, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Vladyslav Siryk is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
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 ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match21 Aug 2027
3 matches without a goal for Poltava
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
21 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Ihor Kotsiumaka out for 21 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Maksym Kartashev is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Squad16 Aug 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for Poltava
20 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
There were 8 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Ihor Kotsiumaka out for 28 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Aug 2027
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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
0‑2 to Polissia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market9 Aug 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Poltava will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market9 Aug 2027
The name of Oleksandr Piatov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Poltava say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
19 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Ihor Kotsiumaka out for 35 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Aug 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 Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Aug 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match31 Jul 2027
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Poltava and Chornomorets in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
6 academy players handed senior numbers at Poltava
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Squad2 Aug 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad26 Jul 2027
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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mykyta Kononov signs something — a contract at Poltava or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 39 days on the sidelines for Mykyta Kononov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market19 Jul 2027
Poltava say no — this time
The offer from Nyva for Danylo Hazhalov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Jul 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Jul 2027
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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Daniil Pilhanchuk 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Poltava signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 66 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market5 Jul 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.
Squad5 Jul 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market5 Jul 2027
Bohdan Stepanov has left for Epicentr in a $57.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmytro Plakhtyr 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
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Ihor Kotsiumaka out for 74 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Jun 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 Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Denys Halenkov: 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Andrii Pustovit is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 28 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
Metalist pay $360.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Ihor Kotsiumaka out for 81 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market21 Jun 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 89 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Jun 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 Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ruslan Kotchenko is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Jun 2027
“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 Jun 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 103 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad31 May 2027
Brian Vega: 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.
Market31 May 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Poltava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 110 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market24 May 2027
“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.
Squad24 May 2027
Alaa Ghram 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 May 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 Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad17 May 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 May 2027
Marian Shved 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 May 2027
Vladyslav Danylenko 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
Market3 May 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ihor Kotsiumaka will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Poltava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad3 May 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Marian Shved 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.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I watch every Poltava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at LNZ runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad3 May 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Nobody at Poltava 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Apr 2027
“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 Apr 2027
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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Alaa Ghram 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Marian Shved 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Marian Shved 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daniil Yermolov commits to Poltava for another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ihor Kotsiumaka damages knee ligaments — 20 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
Market5 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Poltava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Alaa Ghram 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marian Shved 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Brian Vega commits to Poltava for another 3 years.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“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 1 appearances in 34 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Ihor Kotsiumaka damages knee ligaments — 27 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Marian Shved 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
Ihor Kotsiumaka damages knee ligaments — 34 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 34 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.
Squad22 Mar 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marian Shved 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
Uneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Marian Shved 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Dmytro Plakhtyr 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
Market8 Mar 2027
“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.
Market8 Mar 2027
The Kryvbas deal is off
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Daniil Sukhoruchko reports back to Poltava with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Market8 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ihor Kotsiumaka will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Poltava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Volodymyr Odariuk and Poltava agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Marian Shved 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mykola Buzhyn 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
Uneasy
Market1 Mar 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Marian Shved 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
Crisis
Match20 Feb 2027
18 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 18, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Market22 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market22 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Marian Shved 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.
Match20 Feb 2027
The goals have deserted Poltava
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Poltava can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Alaa Ghram
“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.
Match20 Feb 2027
0‑1 to Oleksandriya, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Poltava
17 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 ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Marian Shved 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Feb 2027
Poltava 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.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Vorskla to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
Squad15 Feb 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.
Match13 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yevhen Misiura 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Poltava pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Poltava
16 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.
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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
31 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market8 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Poltava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Alaa Ghram 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marian Shved 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“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.
Loan watch8 Feb 2027
“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 26 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Zorya to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Yevhen Misiura will call it something else in private.
Market1 Feb 2027
Denys Halenkov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Poltava has been clear about where Denys Halenkov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
15 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Jan 2027
14 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 14, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Market25 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Alaa Ghram 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Marian Shved 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Yevhen Misiura 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
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
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.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Marian Shved 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.
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Maksym Danyliuk has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Poltava have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Match16 Jan 2027
3 matches without a goal for Poltava
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad18 Jan 2027
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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Jan 2027
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
Match9 Jan 2027
12 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Poltava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jan 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ihor Kotsiumaka will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Poltava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom11 Jan 2027
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Ihor Kotsiumaka has agreed terms with Oleksandriya for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Alaa Ghram 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.
Boardroom11 Jan 2027
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Rostyslav Liashchuk has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Poltava have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Squad11 Jan 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Poltava
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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Nowhere to hide for Poltava
0‑3 against Zorya, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
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.
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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Daniil Yermolov 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yevhen Misiura 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.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Nobody left the Poltava 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Market28 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.
Squad28 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Alaa Ghram 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 Dec 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marian Shved 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Poltava come up short against LNZ
LNZ left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Volodymyr Odariuk at his very best
Marked 9.20. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Poltava.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 110% 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Dec 2026
9 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
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
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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 Dec 2026
A bad afternoon for Poltava against Rukh
0‑2 to Rukh, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Marian Shved 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marian Shved was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.75. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
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 18 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 Valerii Sad, and the manager let it.
Match12 Dec 2026
It needed Marian Shved to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Kolos, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Brian Vega dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 5.70, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Dec 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. 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
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Marian Shved 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.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Zorya to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Match5 Dec 2026
Metalist left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brian Vega 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.
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 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 43. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
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 Poltava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match28 Nov 2026
6 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
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
Alaa Ghram 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
141% 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
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mykola Buzhyn, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Alaa Ghram 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Alaa Ghram was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.70. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yevhen Misiura 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.
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.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Vorskla to sit and watch. I want to come back to Poltava and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Match21 Nov 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Dynamo Kyiv leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Andrii Pustovit dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match14 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Alaa Ghram 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marian Shved 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.
Match14 Nov 2026
Nobody wins at Poltava
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Match14 Nov 2026
Poltava hit back inside 3 minutes
Shakhtar held the lead for 3 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Poltava answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
The cup run ends for Poltava
0‑1 against Oleksandriya, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. 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
Marian Shved 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Sukhoruchko, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Bohdan Kobzar breaks a bone — 19 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Marian Shved 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
6 unbeaten for Poltava
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Poltava did not have in the autumn.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
141% 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.
Squad2 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
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 27 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 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 ratings26 Oct 2026
Volodymyr Odariuk was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.57. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Marian Shved 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 ratings26 Oct 2026
21 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Match24 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Volodymyr Odariuk. 1‑0 against Kudrivka, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Poltava.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I watch every Poltava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vorskla runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 34 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
26 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Marian Shved 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Marian Shved at his very best
Marked 8.67. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Poltava.
Match17 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Marian Shved. 1‑0 against Obolon, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings19 Oct 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.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I watch every Poltava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at LNZ runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Oct 2026
There were 8 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 43 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Marian Shved 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 Poltava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
22 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladyslav Danylenko and Poltava agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch12 Oct 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 9 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 50 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Alaa Ghram 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marian Shved 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
229% 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 ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.85, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Volodymyr Odariuk at his very best
Marked 8.31. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Poltava.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Mykyta Kononov
“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.
Match3 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Kryvbas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 57 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Maksym Marusych, 33, rolls back the years — 7.99
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.99 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad28 Sep 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Squad28 Sep 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Alaa Ghram was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.36. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I watch every Poltava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Vorskla runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Bohdan Kobzar breaks a bone — 65 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 65 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings21 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.
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.
Match19 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Poltava against Zorya
0‑2 to Zorya, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Sep 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 75 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Poltava's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Poltava has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Sep 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Squad14 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 84 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match5 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.
Squad7 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmytro Plakhtyr 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 244% 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 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
“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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Poltava and Rukh cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Rukh came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 12. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
Bohdan Kobzar breaks a bone — 92 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 92 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
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.
Market31 Aug 2026
LNZ paid $160.0K and Poltava took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Dmytro Plakhtyr 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 ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Volodymyr Odariuk at his very best
Marked 8.83. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Poltava.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Aug 2026
A fracture rules Bohdan Kobzar out for 102 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Poltava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Aug 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.
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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The fee is $140.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Kudrivka drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad24 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Yevhen Misiura scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Metalist, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.15 — 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 ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
27 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad17 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Oleksandr Piatov 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
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match15 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Volodymyr Odariuk’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Poltava.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
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.
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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Dynamo Kyiv left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
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.
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
Marked 5.60, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Oleksandr Piatov has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Poltava know, and have known for weeks.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 9. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The plan did not have a place for Daniil Yermolov
Nobody at Poltava 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
There were 14 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
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Volodymyr Odariuk commits to Poltava for another 2 years.
Squad3 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Poltava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Piatov 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Volodymyr Odariuk’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Match1 Aug 2026
It needed Daniil Sukhoruchko to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Shakhtar, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
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 Poltava, another week without a signature from Oleh Veremiyenko.
Market3 Aug 2026
Mykyta Minchev is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Poltava has been clear about where Mykyta Minchev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 10. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.