Bratyslav Vinnitsya edge Podillya in five-goal thriller
Bratyslav Vinnitsya beat Podillya Khmelnytskyi 3:2 in the opening round of the Druha Liga regular season on Friday. The match finished with two late goals, one of which came in stoppage time. The hosts moved to the top of the table on nine points after three wins, while Podillya dropped to sixth with three points from two games.
Fedosov opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and Maksymets doubled the lead just two minutes later. Podillya pulled one back through Chernenko in the thirty-second minute, but then Shkinder put Bratyslav ahead again in the ninety-second minute. The fifth goal arrived three seconds later, sealing the result in chaotic fashion.
By then the game had been decided in the first half, but the finish was anything but clean. Podillya came for a cross they never reached late on, and the visitors refused to go away even when the result was clear. The home side saw the game out despite the distraction of an extra goal in stoppage time.
Podillya have not won since their opening match, drawing 1:1 with Vorskla and then losing 0:0 to Yarud Mariupol before the defeat. Their recent record includes heavy losses to Niva Ternopil and Metal Kherson, and a 0:2 defeat away at Bukovyna. To be fair, they showed up here with something to prove.
The hosts sit top of the table with three wins from three, but the table goes out of the window in these games. Bratyslav Vinnitsya know that one mistake ends it when you are playing like this. They worked a short corner in the opening minutes and looked sharp, but Podillya should have too much for them if they stay organized.
The result means Bratyslav Vinnitsya hold a four-point lead at the summit, while Podillya are now two points behind the teams above them. A fourth straight win would have been a statement, but this was a messy one. The old head settled them down when it mattered.