Game Day. "Metalist 1925" - "Chernihiv"
April 22, 2026. Zhytomyr, "Central City Stadium". Vbet Cup of Ukraine semi-final. The match starts at 18:00
Referee - Vitaliy Romanov (Dnipro)
Assistant referees - Dmytro Zaporozhenko (Zaporizhzhia) and Oleksandr Korniiko (Myrhorod)
Fourth official - Taras Klymenko (Khmelnytskyi region)
VAR referee - Andriy Kovalenko (Poltava)
VAR assistant - Dmytro Yevtukhov (Dnipro)
VAR observer - Andriy Shandor (Lviv)
UAF arbitration observer - Oleg Derevinsky (Khmelnytskyi)
Live broadcast of the match on the TV channel UPL.TV.
Preview: Ahead of the historic semi-final match in the Ukrainian Cup, "Metalist 1925" has a good streak of results. The team has been consistently defeating opponents in the last three matches, and "Metalist 1925" also has a five-match streak without conceding goals. After the victory over "Kudrivka," the Kharkiv team has 44 points (goal difference: 30-13).
If we look at the team's path in the Cup, it started with the round of 32, where they beat "Obolon" - 2:0. In the next round, "Metalist 1925" defeated the amateur team "Kolos" from Polonnoe - 4:1. In the round of 16, Kharkiv team passed "Agrobusiness" - 4:3, and in the quarter-final match held this year, they won against "Lokomotiv" - 3:0. Interestingly, the tournament's top scorer is Nigerian forward Peter Itodo (5 goals), who has not left the field without scoring a goal in the Cup.
"Chernihiv" strengthened in the spring part of the season and managed to climb in the First League standings from the danger zone. Currently, the "yellow-blacks" hold the 12th position with 26 points and a goal difference of 23-27 (2 points ahead of the 13th place). In the last two matches, "Chernihiv" did not lose, first defeating Ternopil's "Niva" (1:0) and then drawing with "Podillya." The team's top scorer in the championship is Andriy Novikov with 6 goals.
In the country's Cup, "Chernihiv" first defeated the second league team "Atlet" - 1:0, then received a technical victory over "Kryvbas" (3:0). In the round of 16, the team overcame "Lisne," which had already ceased to exist, and in the quarter-finals, there was a victory over "Phoenix-Mariupol" in a penalty shootout series.
The semi-final match will be the first face-to-face meeting in history for the teams.
Support "Metalist 1925"!
Vbet Cup of Ukraine. Semi-final
Tuesday, April 21
18:00 "Bukovyna" - "Dynamo" - 0:3
Wednesday, April 22
18:00 "Metalist 1925" - "Chernihiv"
"Chernihiv" (Chernihiv). Profile
Year of establishment - 2003
Club colors - yellow and black
Home stadium - "Chernihiv Arena" (capacity: 500 spectators)
President – Yuriy Synitsya
Head coach – Valeriy Chorniy
Official website - http://chernigiv.ua/
Historical background: The founding date of FC Chernihiv is considered to be June 18, 2003, when the team "YSB" debuted in the Chernihiv championship. Despite losing the first match, the team immediately made an impact, winning silver in the debut season. In the following years, the team gradually strengthened its position: winning the Chernihiv Cup, achieving prize places in futsal, and regularly being among the strongest teams in the city and region. The team also started competing at the regional level and in the higher league, gaining experience. From 2011, the results became more stable — the team won city and regional tournaments, actively developed, despite controversial decisions of football authorities. In 2012, the team confidently won the regional Cup. In 2013, the club made its debut at the national level among amateurs and reached the final stage of the competition. In the following years, the team continued to compete in regional tournaments, winning medals and maintaining a high level of play.
An important stage was the year 2016 - the construction of their own stadium "Chernihiv-Arena" began, and the team won the championship. In 2017, a rebranding took place: "YUSB" became FC "Chernihiv", a new emblem and a children's football school appeared.
The 2019/2020 season was historic - the club received professional status and debuted in the Second League of Ukraine. Despite the lack of experience, the team represented the city well and laid the foundation for further development.
Achievements: Chernihiv Region Cup - 2019, 2021, 2022
Chernihiv Region Champion - 2021, 2022
Chernihiv Region Super Cup - 2021, 2022
Geography: The fan base is mainly composed of residents of Chernihiv and the region - it is here that the club has the strongest support, especially among youth, graduates of the football school, and local sports enthusiasts. Thus, the geography of FC "Chernihiv" fans combines local loyalty with gradual expansion to the national and international levels, forming a stable and growing community of club supporters.
Head Coach: Valeriy Chorniy - a former Ukrainian footballer who previously played in the First, Second, and amateur leagues. The coach's biography includes "Desna", "Dynamo" (Chernihiv), "Metalurh-2" (Zaporizhzhia), "Spartak" (Sumy), "Enerhetyk" (Burshtyn), "Arsenal" (Bila Tserkva). Chorniy finished his playing career at "Avangard" in Koryukivka, where he also started his coaching career and worked for 10 years. In 2021, the coach took over "Chernihiv", where he still works.
Transfermarkt: The total value of the "Chernihiv" team players is 1 million 760 thousand euros. The most expensive player of the team is defender Vladyslav Shapoval (300 thousand euros), Denis Bezborodko ranked second (150 thousand euros). Interestingly, both players played for another team from the Chernihiv region - "Kudrivka" in the first part of the season.
