Game Day. "Metalist 1925" - "Epicenter"
May 16, 2026. Zhytomyr, "Central City Stadium". 29th round of UPL. The match starts at 13:00
Referee - Artem Mikhaylyuk (Kyiv)
Assistant referees - Marina Striletska (Sumy) and Taras Chopilko (Kyiv region)
Fourth official - Oleg Kohut (Ternopil)
VAR referee - Mykola Balakin (Kyiv region)
VAR assistant referee - Oleksandr Berkut (Sumy)
VAR observer - Andriy Shandor (Lviv)
UAF arbitration observer - Oleg Zubarev (Slovyansk)
Live broadcast of the match on the TV channel UPL.TV.
Preview: "Metalist 1925" approaches the game with "Epicenter" with a disappointing streak without wins. Currently, Mladen Bartulovich's team is in 6th place with 47 points, having slipped from the 5th position. The draw with "Karpaty" in the last round was the 4th match without a win for "Metalist 1925" in the UPL. However, there is good news as forward Peter Itodo has scored 10 goals this season in the UPL. In the match against "Epicenter," the team will be without captain Ivan Kalyuzhny, who misses the game due to suspension.
"Epicenter" has almost achieved its goal of avoiding the relegation playoff zone. In the last round, Sergey Nagornyak's team sensationally defeated "Polissya" 3:2, ending their winless streak. Prior to that, "Epicenter" earned 3 points on April 6 in a match against "Kudrivka." Currently, the team from Kamianets-Podilskyi is in 11th place with 30 points (goal difference: 35-44). In the team's debut season in the UPL, Joaquin Sifuentes is the top scorer with 8 goals.
In the history of the teams' meetings, there have been 4 matches, and it is interesting that the teams have played in 3 different tournaments. First, "Metalist 1925" won in the Cup - 1:0. Then, in the First League, "Epicenter" won twice (2:1 and 3:1), and in the first round of the UPL, a draw was recorded - 0:0.
UPL. 29th round
Saturday, May 16
13:00 "Metalist 1925" - "Epicenter"
13:00 "Poltava" - "Dynamo"
Sunday, May 17
13:00 "Kryvbas" - "Shakhtar"
13:00 "Rukh" - "Oleksandriya"
15:30 "Kolos" - "Obolon"
18.00 "Karpaty" - "Veres"
Monday, May 18
13:00 "Zorya" - "Polissya"
13:00 "Kudrivka" - "LNZ"
Club Profile — FC "Epicenter" (Kamianets-Podilskyi)
Year of establishment: 2019
Club colors: purple-blue
Home stadium: Roman Shukhevych Ternopil City Stadium, Ternopil; capacity — approximately 15,000 spectators.
President: Ivan Chernonog
Head coach: Sergey Nagornyak
Official website: fcepicentr.com.ua
Historical background: FC "Epicenter" is a professional Ukrainian football club representing Kamianets-Podilskyi. The club was founded in 2015 as an amateur team associated with a trading company of the same name. Initially, the team competed in the championships of the Khmelnytskyi region and amateur tournaments, where it quickly established itself as an organized and ambitious team.
In 2019, "Epicenter" won the Ukrainian Amateur Championship, which allowed the club to obtain professional status. Already in the 2020/2021 season, the team made its debut in the Second League and immediately became one of the contenders for top positions. Thanks to the stability of the management, quality squad, and club system development, "Epicenter" quickly solidified its position in professional football.
In the 2022/2023 season, the club earned the right to move up a division. "Epicenter" confidently entered the First League, where it continued to build a competitive team by combining experienced players and young Ukrainian talents.
The culmination of years of work was the 2024/2025 season when the club secured a place in the Ukrainian Premier League. This historic achievement made "Epicenter" the first club from Kamianets-Podilskyi to enter the elite division of Ukrainian football.
Achievements:
Silver medalist of the Ukrainian Amateur Championship - 2020.
Promotion to the Professional Football League (Second League) - debut in 2020/2021.
Promotion to the First League of Ukraine - the club consistently performed in the Second League and later earned the right to play in the First League.
Winner of the First League of Ukraine - direct promotion to UPL (2024/2025 season).
Geography: The fan base of FC "Epicenter" is primarily concentrated in Kamianets-Podilskyi and the Khmelnytskyi region, where the club has formed its core fan base. The team is actively supported in neighboring regions - Ternopil, Chernivtsi, and Vinnytsia regions. With the entry into the UPL, the popularity of "Epicenter" began to grow throughout Ukraine, and the club gradually attracts the attention of a wider audience, becoming a new representative of Western Ukrainian football at the highest level.
Head Coach: 54-year-old Serhiy Nahorniak.
Playing Career: Nahorniak was a forward.
During his career, he played for teams such as: "Vorskla", "Polissya", "Nyva", "Spartak", "Dnipro", "Shenyang Haishi", "Shandong Luneng", "Arsenal", "Jiangsu Suning", "Volyn", and "Metalurh". In the final seasons of his playing career, he played for the amateur club "Irpin".
Coaching Career: After retiring from playing, Serhiy Nahorniak began his coaching career with the youth national teams of Ukraine, working with the U-16, U-17, and U-19 teams from 2019 to 2022. In 2022, he took over FC "Epicenter" (Kamianets-Podilskyi), where he continues to work to this day.
Transfermarkt: According to Transfermarkt, the total market value of the "Epicenter" Kamianets-Podilskyi squad is 6.75 million euros, and the average age of the players is 27.1 years. The team also includes players from Spain.
