On the whole, in the match in Kyiv against "Metalurh," both teams played at the same level, and if previously "Dynamo," while in a playing "slump," as was the case in the game against "Obolon," could win only on class, then in the match against the Zaporizhzhia side, this class was not noticeable in the actions of Sabo's charges. Throughout the entire first half, the hosts did not create a single chance, but Valeriy Yaremchenko's team had more luck. In the 30th minute, Akopyan took a free kick and the ball, deflecting off the wall, disoriented Vitaliy Reva and flew into the net of "Dynamo's" goal - 0:1.
The troubles around "Dynamo's" goal did not end there, and in the absence of Gavranchich in "Dynamo's" defense, Rodolfo and Rodrigo constantly failed, although in the first 45 minutes the spectators did not see any more goals.
In the second half, "Dynamo" played more confidently, although this may also be due to "Metalurh," which somewhat slowed down the pace.
Somewhere around the 25th minute of the second half, "Dynamo" pinned "Metalurh" back toward their own goal and managed to equalize. In the 59th minute, Milevskyi, who came out in "Dynamo's" starting lineup for perhaps the first time, dribbled past two "Metalurh" defenders with feints and shot into the far corner of "Metalurh's" goal, where Shatskykh, who had come on as a substitute a minute earlier, cleverly stuck out his leg, equalizing the score in the game - 1:1.
True, the fate of this match was again decided by a player who came on as a substitute. In the 79th minute, "Dynamo's" central defenders made a mistake in creating an offside position and Lyubarskyi, going one-on-one with Reva, passed to Sylyuk, who scored into an already empty goal - 1:2. Ten minutes before the end of the game, Sabo's team failed to score, and for "Metalurh" and Valeriy Yaremchenko, who at one time coached "Shakhtar," it was a real celebration...
"Dynamo's" main competitor in the championship race - "Shakhtar" - defeated "Kryvbas" at home with a score of 4:2, where Bielik and Jadson each scored a brace. The real sensation of the round happened in Odesa, where "Chornomorets" lost 0:1 to the main candidate for relegation from the Top League - Boryspil's "Borysfen."
Results of the 20th round matches:
"Dynamo" (Kyiv) - "Metalurh" (Zaporizhzhia) - 1:2 Goals: Akopyan 30, Shatskykh 59, Sylyuk 79 "Dynamo": Reva - Rodolfo (Belkevych 65), Rodrigo, Irimia, Nesmachnyi - Hioane (Gavranchich 46), Rincon, Chernat, Yussuf - Milevskyi, Kleber (Shatskykh 58) "Metalurh": Hlushchenko - Vyshnyak, Popov, Nevmyvaka, Florya, Kryventsov, Shkembi (Pohorielov 90), Akopyan, Lyubarskyi, Bredun (Sylyuk 79), Karakevych (Demchenko 43)
"Illichivets" - "Arsenal" - 0:0
"Zakarpattia" - "Metalist" - 0:0
"Shakhtar" - "Kryvbas" - 4:2 Goals: Bielik 34, 40, Jadson 51, Jadson 53, Adiyev 72 - from a penalty, 85 "Shakhtar": Levandovskyi, Rats, Tymoshchuk, Dulyai, Matuzalem (Elano 57), Srna, Jadson (Vukich 63), Vorobey (Brandao 69), Bielik "Kryvbas": Dimitrijevich, Shevelyukhin, Dmitriyev (Dranov 59), Zahorats, Dunyich, Kashevskyi, Ramazanov (Shchehlov 57), Spievak, Alehbe, Adiyev, Popovych (Kyrylychyk 51)
"Dnipro" - "Vorskla-Naftohaz" - 3:1 Goals: Kornilenko 3 - from a penalty, 43, 66, Svystunov 90 "Dnipro": Kernozenko, Hrytsai, Yezerskyi, Shelayev, Venhlynskyi (Kravchenko 55), Shevchuk (Balabanov 68), Radchenko, Matyukhin (Kostyshyn 59), Rusol, Kornylenko, Rotan "Vorskla": Stoiko, Zakotyuk, Stoyan, Sandulovych, Munishi (Milenkovych 72), Kuznetsov (Medvediev 55), Svystunov, Melliti (Karpenko 72), Tselykh, Tsurri, Solyanyk.
"Volyn" - "Obolon" - 1:0 Goal: Sachko 65
"Tavriya" - "Metalurh" Donetsk - 0:0
"Chornomorets" - "Borysfen" - 0:1Goal: Leviha 7
Tournament standings: 1. Shakhtar - 51 (19 games). 2. Dynamo - 48 (20). 3. Metalurh D - 37 (20). 4. Volyn - 34 (20). 5. Chornomorets - 33 (20). 6. Dnipro - 33 (19). 7. Illichivets - 26 (20). 8. Metalist - 25 (20). 9. Tavriya - 23 (20). 10. Arsenal - 22 (20). 11. Kryvbas - 22 (20). 12. Metalurh Z - 20 (19). 13. Vorskla-Naftohaz - 19 (20). 14. Borysfen - 14 (20). 15. Zakarpattia - 13 (19). 16. Obolon - 12 (20).