Yarud Strike Back to Beat Lokomotiv in First League
Yarud Mariupol secured a 1:3 victory over Lokomotiv Kyiv in the Regular Season - 5 clash of the First League on Thursday, 28 August 2026. The visitors turned a 1:0 deficit into a commanding position before the hour mark, extending their unbeaten run to two matches. Lokomotiv, who had drawn three of their opening five fixtures, were left flat-footed by the away side's second-half surge.
O. Sakhnenko opened the scoring for the hosts in the 36th minute, but Yarud responded with three goals in eight minutes. V. Kucherov equalised in the 48th minute, P. Orikhovskyi restored the lead in the 51st, and R. Kovalyuk sealed the win in the 53rd. By then, the home side had already made three changes at the break, but they found no answer to the away side's momentum.
The match saw its share of disciplinary issues, with five yellow cards distributed across both sides. P. Orikhovskyi received the first booking in the 23rd minute, while O. Sakhnenko joined him in the sin-bin for Lokomotiv in the 40th. The visitors worked a short corner routine that opened up space for their attacking trio, and the old head in their ranks settled them down when the hosts tried to regain control.
Before kick-off, Yarud sat 11th with six points from five games, while Lokomotiv languished in 13th with just three points. The visitors brought confidence from their previous outing, a 6:0 demolition of Dnipro-1's reserve side, whereas the hosts had suffered a 1:3 defeat to Proba Horodenka last week. To be fair, Lokomotiv had shown resilience in their draw against Agrobusiness Volochysk, but this result exposed vulnerabilities in their defensive shape.
The victory moves Yarud closer to the upper half of the table, while Lokomotiv remain winless after five fixtures. The hosts have now lost two of their last three matches, a troubling trend for a side that drew three of their opening five games. Yarud's three-goal burst in the second half suggests they have found their rhythm, even if they have yet to string together consecutive victories.