2018–19 Ukrainian Second League
Football league season
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The 2018–19 Ukrainian Second League was the 28th since its establishment. The competition started on 21 July 2018 with the match between Myr and FC Nikopol.[1]
(winter break 11 November 2018 – 31 March 2019)
29 May 2019 – 2 June 2019
(play-offs)
Cherkashchyna (Group A)
Kremin (Group B)
Metalurh (Group B)
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 July 2018 – 25 May 2019 (winter break 11 November 2018 – 31 March 2019) 29 May 2019 – 2 June 2019 (play-offs) |
| Champions | Kremin |
| Promoted | Mynai (Group A) Cherkashchyna (Group A) Kremin (Group B) Metalurh (Group B) |
| Relegated | |
| Matches | 270 |
| Goals | 641 (2.37 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | 20 – Kostyantyn Cherniy (Kremin) |
| Biggest home win | 6 – Metalurh 6–0 Nikopol (Round 25) |
| Biggest away win | 5 – Nikopol 0–5 Krystal (Round 12) |
| Highest scoring | 10 – Hirnyk 7–3 Mykolaiv-2 (Round 16) |
| Longest winning run | 5 – Krystal (Round 11–15) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 – Kremin (Round 12–22) |
| Longest winless run | 13 – Chaika (Round 2–14) |
| Longest losing run | 8 – Nikopol (Round 2–9) |
| Highest attendance | 4,500 – Nyva T.–Bukovyna (Round 2) |
| Lowest attendance | 0 – first 3 matches involving Cherkashchyna(30) Veres – Cherkashchyna (Round 18) |
← 2017–18 2019–20 →
All statistics correct as of 25 May 2019. | |
The competition entered in recess for a winter break which started after the completion of Round 17 on 11 November 2018 and resumed on 31 March 2019.[2] The season competitions were scheduled to be completed on 1 June 2019[2] (later ending on 25 May 2019 due to reduction of participants) culminating with a two legged play-off for promotion held between the two second place from both groups and the 13th and 14th placed teams from the 2018–19 Ukrainian First League on 29 May and 2 June 2019.[2]
Format
The PFL composition of the league was approved at the PFL Conference on 27 June 2017,[3] yet the final composition with the competition regulations will be approved later by the FFU Executive Committee.
The competition is conducted in a triple round robin format.[1] The PFL reinstated direct promotion and relegation between the Second League and the Ukrainian Amateur Football Championship.[4] Some other administrative changes will be introduced for the season in Second League, such as names on jerseys, the PFL emblem, others.[5] In addition, the FFU approved a list of stadiums for each league.[6]
Each winner of group earns a direct promotion, while each runner will contest additional promotion with 13th/14th places of the First League. In case of the Ukrainian Premier League expansion for the next season, winners and second placed teams will get direct promotion, while in play-off will participate third placed teams.
One team from each group with the worst record will be relegated. Those two teams will be swapped with four teams from the Ukrainian Amateur Football Championship.[7]
Teams
Promoted teams
The final composition of the league was adopted at the PFL Conference on 27 June 2018.[3][8] In the midst of the previous season some several amateur teams expressed their intention to play in Druha Liha.[9] The following teams have been admitted from the 2017–18 Ukrainian Football Amateur League:[10]
- Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka – 5th place of Group 2 (debut)
- Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih – 5th place of Group 3 (returning after an absence of five seasons)
- Metalurh Zaporizhya – 4th place of Group 3 (debut, a club with the same name competed last season)
- FC Kalush – 5th place of Group 1 (returning after an absence of thirteen seasons)
- Krystal Kherson – 2nd place of Group 3 (returning after an absence of a season after reorganization)
- FC Mynai – 1st place of Group 1 (debut)
Relegated teams
There were two teams relegated from the 2017–18 Ukrainian First League:
- Kremin Kremenchuk – 16th place (returning after an absence of a season)
- Cherkaskyi Dnipro – 17th place (returning after an absence of three seasons), later dissolved and reorganized as FC Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya
Swapped teams
- Veres Rivne – 6th place of the 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League (returning after an absence of two seasons). The club passed attestation[10] and assumed the position in the league instead of FC Lviv and returned to Rivne Oblast.[11]
Renamed/reformed teams
- FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro was dissolved in July 2018,[12] and reorganized as FC Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya based on its academy from Bilozirya assumed the place of Cherkaskyi Dnipro in the Second League instead.[13][14][15]
- FC Nyva-V Vinnytsia renamed themselves back to their former name FC Nyva Vinnytsia.[16]
Expelled/withdrawn teams
- Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka – passed attestation and even was given opportunity to return to the First League,[3][17] but Okhtyrka city mayor Ihor Alekseyev confirmed in May that the club was dissolved by its main sponsor Ukrnafta.[18] The final decision about the team participation in the season was announced on 11 July 2018, and the season calendar was published without team from Okhtyrka.[13]
- Arsenal-Kyivshchyna Bila Tserkva – failed attestation[19][20]
- FC Dnipro – the club failed attestation for the season and were approved by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to be relegated to a lower classification level due to unpaid old debts[21]
- FC Metalurh Zaporizhzhia – prior to attestation, the club merged with FC Spartak-KPU Zaporizhzhia[22] (a team of local university, KPU), but on 6 June 2018, the club failed attestation for the season and the club's administration decided to dissolve the team[23]
- Inhulets-2 Petrove – the main club's administration of Inhulets Petrove decided to dissolve the second team[24]
- Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv – failed attestation[20]
- Skala Stryi – passed attestation, but dissolved its senior team protesting the FFU accusations in gambling.[25][26][27] On 14 June 2018, there appeared information that the club will merge its academy with FC Volyn Lutsk.[28]
Location map
The following map displays the location of teams. Group A teams marked in red. Group B teams marked in green.
Stadiums
- Group A
| Team | Stadium | Position in 2017–18 |
|---|---|---|
| Bukovyna Chernivtsi | Bukovyna Stadium | 6th |
| Chaika(1) | Dinaz Stadium M.K.Brukvenko Central Stadium |
Am2, 5th |
| Cherkashchyna-Akademiya | Zorya Stadium(2) | FL, 17th |
| FC Kalush | Khimik Stadium | Am1, 5th |
| FC Mynai | Mynai-Arena | Am1, 1st |
| Nyva Ternopil | City Stadium | 7th |
| Nyva Vinnytsia | Central City Stadium Sports Complex Nyva |
3rd |
| Podillya Khmelnytskyi | Sport Complex Podillya | 9th |
| Polissya Zhytomyr | Avanhard Stadium(3) Arsenal Stadium |
8th |
| Veres Rivne | Kolos Stadium(4) | PL, 6th |
- Group B
| Team | Stadium | Position in 2017–18 |
|---|---|---|
| Enerhiya Nova Kakhovka | Enerhiya Stadium | 3rd |
| Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih | Zhovtnevyi Stadium | Am3, 5th |
| Kremin Kremenchuk | Kremin Stadium | FL, 16th |
| Krystal Kherson | Krystal Stadium | Am3, 2nd |
| Metalurh Zaporizhya | Slavutych-Arena | Am3, 4th |
| MFC Mykolaiv-2 | Central City Stadium Park Peremohy Stadium |
9th |
| Myr Hornostayivka | Zatys Stadium | 5th |
| FC Nikopol | Elektrometalurh Stadium | 7th |
| Real Pharma Odesa | Ivan Stadium | 6th |
| Tavriya Simferopol | Mashynobudivnyk Stadium(5) | 4th |
Notes:
- ^(1) Chaika although located in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion outside the city limits of Kyiv began the competition playing in Lyutizh, Vyshhorod Raion since their usual home ground, Kozak-Arena was not in a prepared state.[29] From Round 9 the club moved their home matches to Makariv due to the heat affecting players playing on the artificial surface at Dinaz Stadium.[30]
- ^(2) Cherkashchyna-Akademiya play their home matches in the Zorya Stadium, located in Bilozirya in Cherkasy Raion near the city of Cherkasy.
- ^(3) Polissya Zhytomyr continue to play their home games in Novohrad-Volynskyi due to the construction of both Central Stadium and Spartak Stadium[31] Following the winter break the club moved its home games to the Kyiv's suburb Shchaslyve.
- ^(4) Due to the unavailability of Avanhard Stadium, Veres Rivne play in Mlyniv.[32]
- ^(5) Tavriya Simferopol continue to play their home matches in Beryslav although they had registered to play at Enerhiya Stadium in Nova Kakhovka. All matches will be played in Kherson Oblast of Ukraine due to the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
Managers
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment | Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metalurh Zaporizhzhia |  Volodymyr Shapovalov[34] |
End of contract | 7 June 2018[35] | Pre-season | Oleh Taran |
7 June 2018[35] | Pre-season |
| Veres Rivne | Andriy Demchenko (interim) |
Stayed with FC Lviv[36] | 8 June 2018[37] | Volodymyr Homenyuk |
14 June 2018[38] | ||
| Kremin Kremenchuk | Serhiy Yashchenko |
Change of position | 18 June 2018[39] | Ihor Stolovytskyi |
18 June 2018[39] | ||
| Chaika P. Borshchahivka | Anatoliy Kretov |
Sacked | 15 July 2018 | Viacheslav Bohodyelov |
16 July 2018 | ||
| Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya | Re-organized team (replacing FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro)(21) | Oleksandr Kyrylyuk[40] |
21 July 2018 | ||||
| Veres Rivne | Volodymyr Homenyuk |
Resigns | 7 August 2018[41] | 9th | Oleh Shandruk (interim) |
7 August 2018[41] | 9th |
| Polissya Zhytomyr | Oleksandr Pryzetko |
Fired | 21 August 2018[42] | 8th | Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi |
21 August 2018[42] | 8th |
| Krystal Kherson | Oleksandr Ovchynnikov |
Resigned | 14 September 2018[43] | 4th | Serhiy Shevtsov (interim) |
14 September 2018[43] | 4th |
| Nyva Ternopil | Vitaliy Shumskyi |
Resigned | 24 September 2018[44] | 8th | Vadym Bozhenko (interim) |
24 September 2018[44] | 8th |
| Vadym Bozhenko (interim) |
End of interim spell | 16 October 2018[45] | 7th | Oleksandr Stakhiv |
16 October 2018[45] | 7th | |
| Chaika P. Borshchahivka | Viacheslav Bohodyelov |
Sacked | 20 October 2018 | 10th | Taras Ilnytskyi |
21 October 2018[46] | 10th |
| Nyva Vinnytsia | Denys Kolchin |
Contract ended | 13 November 2018[47][48] | 4th (winter break) |
Colince Ngaha |
27 January 2019[49] | 4th (winter break) |
| Kalush | Vasyl Malyk |
Resigned | 22 November 2018[50] | 3rd (winter break) |
Andriy Nesteruk (interim) |
2 January 2019[51] | 3rd (winter break) |
| Bukovyna Chernivtsi | Viktor Mhlynets |
Resigned | 4 December 2018[52] | 10th (winter break) |
Vitaliy Kunytsia (interim) |
4 December 2018[52] | 10th (winter break) |
| Nyva Ternopil | Oleksandr Stakhiv |
Change of position | 10 January 2019[53] | 7th (winter break) |
Vasyl Malyk |
10 January 2019[53] | 7th (winter break) |
| MFC Mykolaiv-2 | Vyacheslav Mazarati |
Change of position | 24 January 2019[54] | 7th (winter break) |
Volodymyr Ponomarenko |
24 January 2019[54] | 7th (winter break) |
| Krystal Kherson | Serhiy Shevtsov |
Resigned | 25 April 2019[55] | 4th | Andriy Kononenko (interim) |
26 April 2019[55] | 4th |
| FC Mynai | Ihor Kharkovshchenko |
Resigned | 3 May 2019[56] | 4th |  Kirill Kurenko (interim) |
3 May 2019[57] | 4th |
| Kirill Kurenko (interim) |
Reassigned | 15 May 2019[58] | 3rd | Kirill Kurenko |
15 May 2019[58] | 3rd | |
Notes:
Group A
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Mynai (C, P) | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 49 | Promotion to Ukrainian First League[61] |
| 2 | Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya (P) | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 43 | 23 | +20 | 48 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Polissya Zhytomyr | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 45 | |
| 4 | Nyva Vinnytsia | 27 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 42 | |
| 5 | Veres Rivne | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 41 | |
| 6 | Nyva Ternopil | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 36 | |
| 7 | FC Kalush | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 33 | −3 | 36 | |
| 8 | Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 28 | −3 | 31 | |
| 9 | Podillya Khmelnytskyi | 27 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 25 | |
| 10 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 27 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 43 | −24 | 21 | Avoided relegation[62] |
Results
Position by round
Goalscorers
- As of 25 May 2019
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals (Pen.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Hehedosh |
FC Mynai | 13 (2) |
| 2 | Dmytro Skakun |
FC Kalush | 11 (5) |
Notes:
Group B
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kremin Kremenchuk (P, C) | 27 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 48 | 17 | +31 | 61 | Promotion to Ukrainian First League[61] |
| 2 | Metalurh Zaporizhya (P) | 27 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 54 | 24 | +30 | 56 | Qualification to promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih | 27 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 51 | |
| 4 | Krystal Kherson | 27 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 47 | |
| 5 | Myr Hornostayivka[62] | 27 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 45 | Withdrawn after the season |
| 6 | Enerhiya Nova Kakhovka | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 31 | |
| 7 | Tavriya Simferopol | 27 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 30 | 35 | −5 | 30 | |
| 8 | Real Pharma Odesa | 27 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 50 | −27 | 23 | |
| 9 | MFC Mykolaiv-2 | 27 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 52 | −30 | 20 | |
| 10 | FC Nikopol | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 54 | −39 | 13 | Avoided relegation[62] |
Results
Position by round
Goalscorers
- As of 25 May 2019
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals (Pen.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oleksiy Boyko |
Myr Hornostayivka | 19 (2) |
| Kostyantyn Cherniy |
Kremin Kremenchuk | 19 (2) | |
| 3 | Ihor Buka |
Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih | 11 |
| Eduard Sarapiy |
Metalurh Zaporizhia | 11 (6) | |
Notes:
Post season play-offs
The second places of each group will play-off for the third[65] promotion for the First League. Later with withdrawal of several clubs, the format changed (see 2018–19 Ukrainian First League#Format). The second place runners-up will play with the Persha Liha thirteenth and fourteenth places, yet with expansion of the UPL those teams will receive direct promotion and the third placed teams will be contesting promotion in play-offs.
Championship game
On 7 May 2019 it was announced that the final game between group winners of the Second League will take place in Kropyvnytskyi.[66]
| FC Mynai | 0 – 1 | FC Kremin Kremenchuk |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Cherniy  78' |
Kremin Kremenchuk are crowned Champions of the Ukrainian Second League for the 2018–19 season
Notes:
Promotion play-offs
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | Reference | |
| August 2018 | Oleksiy Boyko |
Myr Hornostayivka | [67] |
| September 2018 | Ihor Yarovoy |
Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih | [68] |
| October 2018 | Vladyslav Ihnatyev |
Krystal Kherson | [69] |
| November 2018 | Roman Loktionov |
Cherkashchyna-Akademiya | [70] |
| April 2019 | undisclosed | ||
| May 2019 | undisclosed | ||