Ukraine round-up: Dynamo in the driving seat

FC Dynamo Kyiv edged two points clear of title rivals FC Shakhtar Donetsk with a narrow 1-0 away win against FC Arsenal Kyiv today.

Dmytrulin winner
Yuriy Dmytrulin netted the decisive goal after 73 minutes, and it was enough to secure all three points. Second-placed Shakhtar were held to their fifth draw of the season by FC Metalist Kharkiv, who maintained their challenge for third spot. Shakhtar looked to be cruising to victory when Nigerian international Julius Aghahowa, who netted twice for his country against Scotland on Wednesday, put them ahead after 15 minutes.

Shakhtar held
The home side refused to lie down and battled throughout the match before being rewarded with a late equaliser from Vitaliy Pushkutsa four minutes from time. Elsewhere, FC Metalurh Donetsk stay third in the table despite being held to a 1-1 draw by FC Zakarpattya Uzhgorod at home. Oleg Matveiev struck for the home side to cancel out a strike by the visitors' Serhiy Bohatyriov a minute after half time.

Zaporizhzhya win at home
FC Metalurh Zaporizhzhya kept up the pressure on Metalurh Donetsk with a 2-1 win at home to FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk after coming back from a third-minute Serhiy Zadorozhny strike with goals from Yuriy Benio and Andriy Demchenko. Bottom club FC Vorskla Poltava shocked mid-table FC Karpaty Lviv with a 1-0 away win, only their third win of the season thanks to an Ihor Makovei effort.

Tavriya in charge
In the other two matches FC Tavriya Simferopol ran out 3-1 winners at home to FC Metalurh Mariupil and FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih beat visitors FC Polihraftechnica Olexandria by the same score.