Matches of the 16th round of the Ukrainian football championship took place without unexpected results. In seven of the eight matches, the hosts won, and the only team that took three points away was Donetsk "Shakhtar," which defeated "Illichivets." Kyiv "Dynamo" at an air temperature of -9 beat Kryvyi Rih "Kryvbas" with a score of 2:0. Despite the fact that Sabo's charges, taking into account the UEFA Cup duels, played their third official match, the quality of the Ukrainian champions' play was also below par.

On the whole, "Dynamo" beat "Kryvbas" only thanks to their higher class. The Dynamo players were unable to demonstrate worthy football and redeem themselves for the defeat to "Villarreal" with their play, although they did win and take three points. The few Kyiv fans did not "thaw out" the hosts either...

However, the match turned out well for Sabo's team. Already in the 14th minute, after a set piece, the ball found the head of Goran Gavrančić, who made the score 1:0. The "Kryvbas" players, in turn, tried to beat Shovkovskyi with shots from medium and long range.

After the goal was scored, "Dynamo" generally stopped playing, and the most active member of the team was defender Gavrančić, who at one point made a slalom run toward the "Kryvbas" goal, dribbling past four opposing players, but fell on the fifth, breaking his nose.

In the 43rd minute, "Dynamo" used another of their chances near the "Kryvbas" goal. This time Kleber laid the ball off for Yussuf to shoot, and from about 20 meters he hit the upper corner of Horyainov's goal – 2:0.

It is worth noting that in the first half, two players made their debuts for "Dynamo" at once – the Romanian Irimia and midfielder Herasymyuk. And while Irimia did not particularly distinguish himself with reliability on the right flank of the defense, Herasymyuk's play went unappreciated due to the player being ignored by his teammates...

In the final 45 minutes, the frost again for some reason affected the "Dynamo" players more, who did not want to run at all, while "Kryvbas" ran and even created chances. Had the guests been more skillful at the end of the match, even a draw for Sabo's team would have been considered a gift. Only Kyrylchyk had two chances to score against Shovkovskyi. At one point, the Belarusian legionnaire of "Kryvbas" failed to shoot accurately from about ten meters at the "Dynamo" goal, and in the final minutes Kyrylchyk failed to convert a one-on-one with Shovkovskyi, who parried the player's shot.

At one point Kabanov delivered a dangerous shot, but missed the target from several meters. In the 90th minute, the match referee could well have awarded a penalty to the "Dynamo" goal when Nesmachnyi fouled Dmitriiev.

True, the Dynamo players also had two opportunities to increase the score. Thus Husiev was just a few seconds short of going one-on-one with Horyainov, and after a long-range shot by Shatskykh the ball flew just past the crossbar.

So, "Dynamo" continues to trail "Shakhtar" by one point. Of the other matches of the 16th round, it is worth noting the 3:0 victory of "Dnipro," where two goals were scored by newcomers – Kornylenko and Shevchuk.

Results of the 16th round matches.

"Dynamo" (Kyiv) - "Kryvbas" (Kryvyi Rih) - 2:0 Goals: Gavrančić 11, Yussuf 43 "Dynamo": Shovkovskyi, Irimia, Kadouri (Nesmachnyi 64), Gavrančić, Sablić, Belkevych, Chernat (Ninković 78), Herasymyuk (Husiev 46), Yussuf, Kleber, Shatskykh. "Kryvbas": Horyainov, Zahorac, Dmitriiev, Sheveliukhin, Morozov (Spievak 46), Alehbe, Trepachkin (Dunich 46), Ramazanov, Kashevskyi, Kyrylchyk, Kabanov (Adiiev 60)

"Tavriya" (Simferopol) - "Borysfen" (Boryspil) - 2:1 Goals: Edmar 45, Junior 57, Melnyk 53

"Vorskla-Naftohaz" (Poltava) - "Metalurh" (Zaporizhzhia) - 1:0 Goals: Milenković 18

"Metalurh" (Donetsk) - "Arsenal" (Kyiv) - 1:0 Goal: Mendoza 45

"Volyn" (Lutsk) - "Zakarpattia" (Uzhhorod) - 3:0 Goals: Hashchyn 60 - from a penalty, Trishović 86, Nahorniak 88

"Illichivets" (Mariupol) - "Shakhtar" (Donetsk) - 0:1 Goals: Evaeverson 38

"Dnipro" (Dnipropetrovsk) - "Obolon" (Kyiv) - 3:0 Goals: Nazarenko 13, Shevchuk 23, Kornylenko 39

"Chornomorets" (Odesa) - "Metalist" (Kharkiv) - 2:1 Goal: Kosyrin 1, Kosyrin 79, Serhii Kuznetsov 18.

Tournament standings: 1. "Shakhtar" - 42. 2. "Dynamo" - 41. 3. "Metalurh" D - 35. 4. "Volyn" - 28. 5. "Chornomorets" - 26. 6. "Dnipro" - 26. 7. "Metalist" - 20. 8. "Illichivets" - 20. 9. "Arsenal" - 20. 10. "Tavriya" - 18. 11. "Kryvbas" - 18. 12. "Vorskla-Naftohaz" - 15. 13. "Metalurh" - 14. 14. "Zakarpattia" - 11. 15. "Obolon" - 11. 16. "Borysfen" - 7.