From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match10 Oct 2026
Nowhere to hide for Poltava
0‑4 against Polissia, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match10 Oct 2026
4 matches without a goal for Poltava
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Poltava
Valerii Voskonyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Poltava
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmytro Plakhtyr was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 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.
Boardroom12 Oct 2026
Doors closed at Poltava
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑4 Oleh Vanat left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Oleh Veremiyenko's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
11 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
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.
Squad5 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Mykola Buzhyn 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
A bad afternoon for Poltava against Kryvbas
0‑1 to Kryvbas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oleh Vanat after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Looking ahead5 Oct 2026
Poltava take on the side everybody is chasing
Polissia arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Poltava
10 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.
Match28 Sep 2026
Poltava sink to position 16
1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match26 Sep 2026
0‑3 to Karpaty, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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
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.
The dugout28 Sep 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.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Oleh Vanat left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for Poltava
0‑6 against Zorya, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match19 Sep 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Poltava
Valerii Voskonyan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Poltava and Zorya in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Poltava
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmytro Plakhtyr was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Sep 2026
3 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
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.
Loan watch21 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 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑6 defeat, delivered by Oleh Vanat to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
16 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
1‑4 to LNZ, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match12 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Poltava close the window on a squad of their own making
11 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Temperley is saying, and nobody at Poltava is enjoying the guessing.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Mykola Buzhyn 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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout14 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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Poltava
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Sep 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
7 matches without a win for Poltava
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Poltava are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The deal with Temperley is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Poltava had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Radnicki Nis, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Poltava asked and Shakhtar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Arsentiy Doroshenko was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Aug 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Bohdan Kobzar obliged against Obolon. 1‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Poltava.
Match29 Aug 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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The deal with Radnicki Nis is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad31 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
Karpaty pay $150.0K, 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.
Squad31 Aug 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Poltava asked and Dynamo Kyiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Andrii Pustovit
“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
Squad24 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Haladas is saying, and nobody at Poltava is enjoying the guessing.
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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
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.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match22 Aug 2026
No clean sheets in sight for Poltava
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Poltava
Valerii Voskonyan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match22 Aug 2026
Metalist left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market24 Aug 2026
The name of Daniil Yermolov has come up in conversations Poltava were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Aug 2026
1‑4 to Veres, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad17 Aug 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Guarani is saying, and nobody at Poltava is enjoying the guessing.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Poltava
Mykola Buzhyn and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 Aug 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Legia have kept their man, and Poltava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Ihor Kotsiumaka, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmytro Prikhna, and the manager let it.
In brief
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Boardroom
Nobody left the Poltava dressing room in a hurry
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Transfer targets
Poltava try to borrow Bence Gazdag
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Aug 2026
Chastening afternoon for Poltava
A 1‑6 beating by Dynamo Kyiv was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad10 Aug 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Carrarese is saying, and nobody at Poltava is enjoying the guessing.
Squad10 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Livyi Bereh have kept their man, and Poltava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Taras Kocherhin has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Heorhiy Dovbyk is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Oleh Vanat has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
14 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match1 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑4 by Shakhtar, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dmytro Plakhtyr commits to Poltava for another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Poltava
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mykola Buzhyn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Yevhen Misiura
“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.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
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.
Market3 Aug 2026
36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oleh Vanat after 0‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.