Georgiy Bushchan‘s costly mistake prevented Polissya from securing their third consecutive victory at the start of the Ukrainian Premier League season. Ruslan Rotan‘s side had taken the lead and dominated in terms of shots, but Zorya calmly punished the hosts’ errors, overturning the match within four minutes of the second half.
From the outset, Polissya seized control, systematically testing the visitors’ defense down the flanks. Their pressure quickly paid off. In the 16th minute, Veletin delivered a sharp cross from the left wing; although Zorya‘s defenders disrupted Krasnopir, they failed to mark Fedor, who slotted the ball into the net. Before halftime, Zorya responded with just two attempts from Glushchenko. In the first, Bushchan nearly erred, while the second shot from the midfielder narrowly missed the post.
After the break, nothing suggested trouble for Polissya. However, a lapse in concentration proved costly for the UPL bronze medalists. In the 59th minute, Zorya launched a counterattack where Popara passed into the box to Nesterenko. Bushchan parried Nesterenko’s shot only to Glushchenko, who deflected the ball into the net. The hosts barely had time to react before disaster struck. In the 63rd minute, Bushchan recklessly ventured outside his penalty area and made a grave error initiating Polissya‘s attack. Nesterenko quickly seized the opportunity, calmly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper to put Zorya ahead 2-1.
This unexpected setback denied Polissya the chance to reach nine points and join Shakhtar Donetsk and Karpaty Lviv at the top of the Ukrainian Premier League table. Meanwhile, Zorya once again demonstrated their reputation as a resilient side, closing the gap on the leaders.
2026-27, Ukrainian Premier League
Polissya – Zorya 1:2 (1:0)
Goals: Fedor 16 (1:0); Glushchenko 59 (1:1); Nesterenko 63 (1:2)
Polissya: Bushchan; Chobotenko; Krushinsky; Krasnych I.; Andriyevsky (Emerllahu, 68); Babenko R.; Veletin (Nazarenko Al-r, 68); Andrade Le. (Bragaru, 60); Mykhailychenko B.; Fedor (Filippov, 60); Krasnopir (Gaiduchik N., 71)
Substitutions: Bragaru (60); Filippov (60); Emerllahu (68); Nazarenko Al-r (68); Gaiduchik N. (71)
Reserves: Kudryk; Talko; Maisuradze; Kravchenko N.; Gryshkevich; Shepelev V.; Araujo A.
Yellow cards: Babenko R. 55
Zorya: Rybak; Jordan; Kravets V. (Machelyuk, 46); Yanich; Popara; Slesar; Bashich Ya. (Drishlyuk, 78); Nesterenko; Perduhta (Junior Reis, 78); Glushchenko (Budkovsky, 77); Elavich (Italo, 78)
Substitutions: Machelyuk (46); Budkovsky (77); Junior Reis (78); Italo (78); Drishlyuk (78)
Reserves: Saputin; Karavashchenko; Eskinya; Kushnirenko; Zadorozhny; Yurchenko Vl.; Gorbach
Yellow cards: Nesterenko 73
