Game Day. "Zorya" - "Metalist 1925"
May 9, 2026. Kyiv, "Dynamo" named after V. Lobanovsky. Matchday 27 of the UPL. The match starts at 18:00
Referee - Klym Zabroda (Kyiv)
Assistant referees - Valentyn Kutsev (Kyiv region) and Vitaliy Skoblya (Kyiv)
Fourth official - Oleksandr Solovyan (Kyiv region)
VAR referee - Oleksandr Shandor (Lviv)
VAR assistant - Denys Shurman (Kyiv region)
VAR observer - Viktor Shvetsov (Odesa)
UAF arbitration observer - Yevhen Aranovsky (Khmelnytsky)
UAF delegate - Yaroslav Derevianko (Dnipro)
denko R. Vegat UAF — Didenko R.V
Live broadcast of the match on the TV channel UPL.TV.
Preview: In the last round, in a match against "Polissya," "Metalist 1925" ended a six-game unbeaten streak in the championship. Mladen Bartulovich's team narrowly lost to the opponent, conceding the only goal in the first half. The defeat pushed the team to the 5th position. Now the gap from "Dynamo," which is in fourth place, is 2 points (45 points and goal difference: 31-15). Despite the loss, it's worth noting that "Metalist 1925's" defense remains the best in the UPL. The squad is in good shape as the team's infirmary is currently empty.
"Zorya" had contrasting results in the last two rounds. The team from Luhansk successively defeated "Veres" - 2:0 and "Rukh" - 2:1. These victories came right after matches against the giants: "Shakhtar" and "Dynamo," where Viktor Skrypnyk's team suffered defeats. It's worth mentioning that in the last match, the victory was brought to the team by Pylyp Budkivskyi. The experienced forward is not only the top scorer of his team but also with 11 goals, he is contending for the title of the season's top scorer in the UPL, currently in second place in the ranking. It's important to note that due to an accumulation of yellow cards, the team's main central defender Jordan will miss the match.
UPL, Matchday 27
Friday, May 8
13:00 "Kryvbas" - "Karpaty" - 1:0
15:30 "Kolos" - "Kudrivka" - 1:0
18:00 "Polissya" - "Oleksandriya" - 2:1
Saturday, May 9
13:00 "Rukh" - "Veres"
15:30 "LNZ" - "Dynamo"
18:00 "Obolon" - "Epicenter"
18:00 "Zorya" - "Metalist 1925"
Sunday, November 10
15:30 "Poltava" - "Shakhtar"
"Zorya" (Luhansk). Profile
Year of foundation - 1923
Club colors - black and white
Home stadium - "Dynamo named after Lobanovsky" (Kyiv, Hrushevskoho St., 3, capacity 16,873 spectators)
President - Yevheniy Hulley
Head coach - Viktor Skrypnyk
Official website - zarya-lugansk.com
Historical background: The club's history dates back to 1923 when a football club named "Metalist" was founded in Luhansk. However, with this name, the team existed for only 13 years, then changed its name to "Dzerzhynets," "Trudovi Rezervy," until in 1964 the team was named "Zorya" (it's worth noting that from 1992 to 1995, "Zorya" played in the Ukrainian championships with the addition "MALC," "Zorya-MALC").
The peak of success for Luhansk football was achieved in the early 1970s.In 1972, "Zorya" became the champion of the USSR, and in 1974 and 1975 the team reached the final of the USSR Cup.
After Ukraine gained independence, "Zorya" started competing in the Premier League of the Ukrainian Championship. However, after five seasons in the "elite," "Zorya" was relegated to the First League. The Luhansk team spent as many as ten seasons in the lower divisions of Ukrainian football. When in 2006 it returned to the top Ukrainian football division. Since then, "Zorya" has not left the "elite." After 2014, the team moved to Zaporizhzhia, where it started to be based and play home matches. After that, the team won the bronze medals of the UPL four times and became a finalist of the Cup twice. After the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, "Zorya" changed its location again and moved to the capital of the country, where the team still plays.
Last season, the team finished 7th with 40 points. Interestingly, the current coach of "Metalist 1925" - Mladen Bartulovich, led the team.
Achievements: USSR Champion - 1972
USSR Cup Finalist - 1974, 1975
Ukrainian SSR Champion - 1938, 1962, 1986
Ukrainian Premier League Bronze Medalist - 2016/2017, 2019/2020, 2020/2021
Ukrainian Cup Finalist - 2015/2016, 2020/2021
First League Winner - 2005/2006
First League Bronze Medalist - 2004/2005
Second League Winner - 2002/2003
Second League Silver Medalist - 1998/1999
Geography: The fan base of FC "Zorya" covers not only the native region but also a wide part of Ukraine. The main core of fans is in Luhansk. After the club's forced relocation, support grew in Zaporizhzhia, which was a temporary shelter for the team. The team is also actively supported in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, and other major cities where displaced persons from Donbas reside. Over the years of participating in European competitions, "Zorya" has gained the sympathy of neutral fans across Ukraine, so today the club has a broad and diverse fan base - from East to West of the country.
Head Coach: The head coach of "Zorya" is 55-year-old Viktor Skrypnyk.
Playing Career: "Dnipro" (Dnipropetrovsk) (1986-1989), "Metalurh" (Zaporizhzhia) (1989-1991), "Metalurh" (Zaporizhzhia) (1992 - 1994), "Dnipro" (Dnipropetrovsk) (1994 - 1996), "Werder" (Bremen) (1996 - 2004).
Coaching Career: "Werder"U17 (Bremen) (2008 - 2013), "Werder II" (Bremen) (2013-2014), "Werder" (Bremen) (2014-2016), "Riga" (Riga) (2018-2019), "Zorya" (Luhansk) (2019 -2022), "Vorskla" (Poltava) (2022 - 2023), "Metalist 1925 (Kharkiv) (2023 -2024).
Transfermarkt: According to the "Zorya" portal, the team has the 9th most valuable squad in the UPL, valued at 11 million 750 thousand euros. The average age of the team's players is 25.5 years. The most expensive player in the team is Brazilian defender Jordan (1 million euros).
The team has a wide representation of foreign players from Brazil, Nigeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Panama, and Sierra Leone.
