Ukraine round-up: Disaster for Dynamo at Volyn

FC Volyn Lutsk secured a 1-0 win against FC Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday to bring FC Shakhtar Donetsk closer to the title.

Hammer blow
Volyn produced perhaps the biggest shock of the Ukrainian Premier League season to deal a hammer blow to Dynamo's hopes of reclaiming the title. The visitors were left to rue a penalty miss when Volyn goalkeeper Olexandr Humenyuk saved captain Valentin Byalkevich's effort.

Loan star
Dynamo dominated much of the game and had several chances to break the deadlock only to be stung by Valeriy Kriventsov's winning goal eight minutes from time. To add insult to injury, Kriventsov is on loan at Volyn from Shakhtar.

Frustrating evening
The reigning champions also had a difficult evening, but managed to overcome FC Kryvbas Kryviy Rih away from home. Despite having 22 shots on goal in the first 90 minutes of the game, Shakhtar could not break down the home side.

Vorobey strike
However, just when all seemed lost, Ukrainian international Andriy Vorobey popped up in the second minute of added time to drill a shot into the Kryvbas net from 18 metres and extend his side's lead at the top of the table to five points with six games remaining.

Brought forward
The two fixtures had been brought forward from the weekend to give Ukraine's two leading sides extra time to prepare for the Lobanovskiy International Memorial Tournament in Kyiv which kicks off on Monday.

European picture
With the top two sides in Ukraine earning a place in the UEFA Champions League, both sides look set to compete in Europe's premier club competition next season as second-placed Dynamo hold a nine-point lead over third-placed FC Metalurh Donetsk.

Massive game
As they stand, Dynamo would join the competition in the second qualifying round, with Shakhtar entering the competition in the third. However, things could yet turn around, especially as the champions travel to play Dynamo in Kyiv on 21 May.