Mayak Sarny and SK Poltava played out a 0:0 draw in the Round of 64 of the Cup on 22 August 2026. The match went to extra time and then penalties, where both sides found the net but also missed their chances. The shootout produced eight events between the 120th minute and stoppage time, with four penalties scored and four missed across the two teams.
Shadows from a long night
There is no scoreboard to tell you who walked away, only the pattern of penalties. At 120+1 both teams struck, then again at 120+2. The pattern broke at 120+3 when one side missed and the other scored. At 120+4 the same split happened—miss and goal. By then the arithmetic was clear enough: each side had converted three penalties and missed two, yet the tie remained unresolved.
Mayak Sarny arrived with a heavy memory. Their last outing ended 2:0 away to Metal Kharkiv on 22 August 2025, a year ago to the day. SK Poltava came off a run of five matches, starting with a 2:5 defeat to Oleksandriya in July, then three clean sheets against Agrobusiness Volochysk and Yurud Mariupol, and a goalless draw with UKSA on 15 August. They had found a way back into form before this night.
The penalty sequence itself tells you little about control. Both teams took their spots with the same urgency, neither able to force the other into error. The misses came at regular intervals, suggesting nerves rather than poor technique. There is no value left at that number when you are waiting for a result.
Cup competitions often produce moments like this, where the format refuses to deliver a clean conclusion. The Round of 64 usually narrows the field, but here it simply extended the uncertainty. Both sides had done enough to deserve more than a draw, yet neither could claim victory.
The table waits. Neither club moves. The shootout ended with identical tallies—three goals, two misses—and the only thing decided was the length of the night.