Kulikov claimed a 2:1 victory over Prykarpattia in the third matchday of the First League regular season on Saturday. The home side took two points from their sixth fixture, moving further clear of the visitors in the table. It was a result built on Semotyuk's brace and a late reply from the away side.
The visitors made the better start and held firm through the opening exchanges. Semotyuk drew a yellow card in the fourteenth minute before Kulikov took control. The home side's breakthrough came in the fifty-eighth minute when Semotyuk found the net. Prykarpattia had to weather the storm after that.
By then the match had settled into a pattern where Kulikov dictated the tempo. A second yellow card for Tsyutsyura in the fortieth minute and a booking for Marusych in the fifty-sixth told a story of growing tension. Prykarpattia responded with three substitutions between the seventieth and seventy-second minutes, trying to find something.
Semotyuk doubled his tally in the seventy-fifth minute and that appeared to seal the game. The visitors refused to lie down and pulled one back in the ninety-third minute. A yellow card for an unnamed player in the seventy-eighth minute showed the frustration building on the home bench.
The win moves Kulikov to 11 points from six games, sitting fourth in the standings. Prykarpattia remain in seventh place on eight points after two wins, two draws and two losses. The hosts have kept three clean sheets on the spin and that consistency is telling.