Dynamo gather momentum

By Igor Linnyk

FC Dynamo Kyiv have been the team of the month in Ukraine, having not dropped a single point since Joszef Szabo took charge in August. In three games in October, Dynamo beat FC Vorskla Poltava, FC Borysfen Borispol and FC Metalurh Zaporizhya.

Mixed form
Dynamo's archrivals FC Shakhtar Donetsk, in the meantime, combined an emphatic 3-0 victory over Celtic FC in the UEFA Champions League with some poor domestic form. First, they were held at home by FC Metalist Kharkiv, then, on 29 October, they nearly dropped points again, this time against FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. Defender Cosmin Barcauan scored the decisive goal in the fifth minute of added time, as his team won 2-1.

Barcauan sent off
That result kept them two points above Dynamo, yet Barcauan was subsequently one of two Shakhtar players sent off as they went down at Celtic in the Champions League return match in Glasgow. Dynamo were due to welcome Real Madrid CF to Kiev tonight, having had little luck in losing 1-0 in the Spanish capital a fortnight previously.

Dnipro dip
If Shakhtar have suffered a dip in form, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, third in 2003/04, are faring even worse. Euhen Kucherevskiy's men are down in eighth place, fully eight points behind FC Metalurh Donetsk, who are third, and 15 adrift of leaders Shakhtar. However, unlike Metalurh, who suffered an early exit from the UEFA Cup, Dnipro at least made it through to the group stage of the competition and overcame Club Brugge KV 3-2 at home in their opening match.

Borysfen bottom
Of the other clubs, there have been stronger than expected performances from FC Volyn Lutsk, currently fourth, and Metalist, who are fifth. FC Illychivets Mariupil, who are sixth, remain the only side to have scored a goal in every game. At the bottom, Borysfen are still to win, taking just five points from 33.

Scoring charts
There are two midfield players at the top of the scoring charts, Serhiy Zakarliuka of Illichivets and Yuri Tselykh of FC Zakarpattya Uzhgorod, who have six goals apiece. Another surprise was the victory of second division outfit FC Niva Vinnitsa over Kryvbas in the first leg of the Ukraine Cup quarter-finals, although the second leg remains to be played in November.

National team
Finally the national team marked the 110th anniversary of football's arrival in Ukraine, by going top of their FIFA World Cup qualifying group. Oleh Blokhin's side collected four points from home matches against Greece and Georgia, drawing 1-1 with the European champions before beating the Georgians 2-0.