The first league. Changes at the helm of Niva, Bukovyna and Karpaty strengthen coaching staffs

16.01.2024 14:00

Roman Loktionov became the head coach of Niva Buziv. Photo FC "Kremin"

If the teams of the elite division are already holding control matches during the preparation for the spring part of the season, the football players from the vast majority of PFL clubs are still on vacation, because the second stage of the first league championship starts later - at the end of March.

So, on January 21, when they resume the training process, the players of Buziv "Niva" will be presented with a new helmsman - Roman Loktionov, who led "Kremin" last fall. Since Buzova is expected to experience significant personnel disruptions, there will be a dozen potential newcomers who will prove their professional suitability in 10 control matches. The first, with the youth team "Zori", will be held on January 30.

Changes have also taken place at the "Bukovyny" coaching bridge. Kermanych Andriy Melnychuk will be assisted by Serhii Solovyov, who once headed VPC-Agro, Vitaliy Komarnytskyi and Igor Bilan, who will be responsible for the training of goalkeepers. Last year, the last two were coaches of "LNZ". And Hryhoriy Churilov became the new sports director of FC "Bukovyna".

Eight performers left "Bukovyna" after the autumn part of the season. The first winter rookie was the experienced defender Ihor Soldat, who previously played for "Minai". Three former players of Buziv "Niva" - Danylo Knysh, Yehor Shalfeev and Ivan Budniak - also moved to Bukovyna.

"Left Bank" plans to hold as many as 12 sparring sessions, the first of which will be with members of the club's academy (January 20). Oleg Vakulenko, Yurii Repeta, Oleg Yankovskyi and Denys Golub will no longer play for Kyiv. The first winter recruit was the Brazilian defender Sydney, who at one time played for Lviv "Rukh".

"Prykarpattia" will conduct all stages of training in Ivano-Frankivsk, traveling to neighboring regions only for control matches. Goalkeeper Ivan Pitsan and left defender Mykhailo Pysko left the benches of the Carpathians. Experienced stopper Valery Boldenkov from Podillia expressed his desire to help the Ivano-Frankivsk team.

As for the leaders of the "championship" group, "Karpaty" will play their first sparring match on February 6 against the amateur team of Lviv Oblast. Kyrylo Matveev will no longer play for the green and white team. Volodymyr Yezerskyi, who was a coach in "Alexandria" last fall, will work in "Karpaty" and ex-scout of "Shakhtar" and "Dnipro-1" Hleb Kornienko, became one of the assistants of the driver Myron Markevich.

And the main pursuer of "Karpat", "Ingulets", has started winter training. Yevhen Zaporizhets, the former captain of the Petrov team, will continue his career in "Obolon", he will be replaced in the midfield by Serhiy Panasenko from "Minaya".

Match results and standings of the first league

Distribution of participants after the first stage by "Championship" and "Elimination" groups