This is part one of the final Sportsline update of 2017. The items were prepared by Matthew Dubas. Part two will follow in an upcoming issue.
Soccer
• Ukraine’s men’s national team won 2-1 against Slovakia in an international friendly match on November 10 at Arena Lviv. Slovakia opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Andriy Yarmolenko equalized for Ukraine in the 39th minute with a near shot. Yevhen Konoplyanka sealed the win for Ukraine in the 54th minute with a deflection off Slovakia’s goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka.
• Shakhtar Donetsk won 2-1 against Manchester City on December 6 as part of the UEFA Champions League group stage. Shkahtar lost 0-3 against Napoli on November 21, won 3-1 against Feyenoord (the Netherlands) on November 1 in Kharkiv and won 2-1 against Feyenoord on October 17 in Rotterdam. Shakhtar lost 0-2 against Manchester City on September 26 and won 2-1 against Napoli on September 13 at Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv. Shakhtar, in second place of Group F, has 12 points, Manchester City leads with 15 points. Napoli is in third place (six points) followed by Feyenoord (three points). Shakhtar has drawn Roma FC in the round of 16.
• In the UEFA Europa League group stage, Dynamo Kyiv won 4-1 against Partizan (Serbia) on December 7, with Junior Maraes scoring a hat-trick (28th, 31st and 78th minutes). Dynamo lost 2-3 against Skenderbeu (Albania) on November 23, won 1-0 against the Young Boys (Switzerland) on November 2 and tied 2-2 with the Young Boys on October 19 in Group B. Dynamo won 3-1 against Skenderbeu on September 14 and won 3-2 against Partizan on September 28. Zorya Luhansk, in Group J, lost 0-2 against Athletic Bilbao (Spain) on December 7, lost 0-2 against Hertha Berlin on November 2 and won 2-1 against Hertha on October 19. Zorya lost 0-2 against Ostersund (Sweden) on November 23 and lost 0-2 again on September 14 in the first-leg match. Zorya won 1-0 against Athletic on September 28. Zorya finished in third place in Group J with six points (two wins and four losses) and were eliminated, while Dynamo finished in first place in Group B with 13 points (four wins, one draw, one loss) and advances to the playoff stage in the round of 32. Dynamo has drawn Greece’s AEK in the round of 32, and matches are to begin on February 15 and 22 in two-leg series (home and away).
• In the UEFA Youth League, Shakhtar Donetsk finished in third place in Group F with seven points after six matches played and was eliminated from the tournament. Shakhtar won 2-1 against Manchester City on December 6 and Manchester City leads the group with 13 points, followed by Feyenoord (nine) and Napoli (four). Shakhtar lost 1-2 against Napoli on September 13, lost 1-3 against Manchester City on September 26, and lost 0-4 against Feyenoord on October 17. Shakhtar tied 1-1 with Feyenoord on November 1 and won 2-1 against Napoli on November 21.
• Ukraine’s Under-17 men’s team has drawn Group 11 of the qualifying round of the UEFA European U-17 Championships. Ukraine won 3-0 against Bulgaria on October 10, won 6-1 against Azerbaijan on October 13 and lost 1-3 against Ireland on October 16. Ukraine is in second place (six points) behind Ireland (nine points). Ukraine advances to the elite round, with matches to resume in the spring.
• Ukraine’s Under-19 men’s team tops Group 12 (with nine points) of the qualifying round of the UEFA European U-19 Championships. In its matches, Ukraine won 1-0 against Albania on October 4, won 2-1 against Norway on October 7 and won 4-0 against Montenegro on October 10. Ukraine advances to the elite round, with matches and draws to be announced for the spring. The U-19 team advances to the elite round, with matches to resume in the spring. The tournament final stage is to be hosted on July 16-29, 2018, in Finland.
• Ukraine’s Under-21 men’s team is in third place (eight points) of Group 4 after five matches played in the UEFA European U-21 Championships. Ukraine tied 1-1 with Latvia on September 1, won 6-0 against Andorra on September 5, and tied 1-1 with the Netherlands on October 10. Ukraine lost 0-2 against England on November 10 and won 2-0 against Scotland on November 14. England topped the group with 13 points. The Netherlands, with eight points and in second place in the group based on aggregate goals, did not advance to playoff round.
• Ukraine’s Under-19 women’s team was eliminated from the tournament after the team finished in third place (three points) in Group 4 with Albania (one point), Azerbaijan (four points) and Spain (nine points). Ukraine lost 0-2 against Azerbaijan on October 25, won 5-0 against Albania on October 28 and lost 0-4 against Spain on October 31.
• Ukraine’s Under-17 women’s team played in Group 1 of the UEFA European U-17 Championships Elite Round. After three matches played, Ukraine finished in third place with three points. Ukraine lost 1-3 against Poland on October 10, lost 0-5 against Switzerland on October 13 and won 6-1 against the Faroe Islands on October 16. Ukraine failed to advance to the final tournament stage.
• Ukraine lost 0-2 against Croatia on October 9 and was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Ukraine won 2-0 against Kosovo on October 6 and finished in third place (17 points) in Group I. Iceland topped the group (22 points), followed by Croatia (20), Ukraine and Turkey (15), Finland (9) and Kosovo (1). After 10 matches played, Ukraine finished with a record of five wins, two draws and three losses, with 13 goals for and nine against. Iceland advances to the World Cup and Croatia, as runner-up, is set for a playoff of the eight other second-place teams from each group.
• Volodymyr Prokopiv, deputy mayor and secretary of the Kyiv City Council, said that Kyiv plans to allocate 25 million hrv for the final match of the UEFA Champions League for 2017-2018. The final is to be hosted in May, and Kyiv is expected to host more than 150,00 foreign tourists for the event.
• Ukraine won 8-1 against Panama on September 23 in the third round of the Unity Cup in Philadelphia. Ukraine won 4-1 against Ghana on September 16 in the second round. Ukraine finished in second place in Group L with six points. Ukraine lost against Puerto Rico on October 7 of the knockout stage on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw in regulation time.
• Andriy Shevchenko said on October 23 in Kyiv that he wants to remain as head coach of the Ukrainian national men’s team. “I see progress in the game of the team. I see that the team can play better and this instills confidence in me. I want to stay working with the national team,” he said. The decision is ultimately made by the executive committee of the Football Federation of Ukraine. Shevchenko said he assumes responsibility for the team’s failure to advance to the 2018 World Cup. His contract was renewed after a meeting of the FFU’s executive committee unanimously voted on November 5 to extend the contract until 2020.
Futsal
• Ukraine has drawn Group C, with Portugal and Romania, as part of the final tournament of the UEFA Futsal Euro. Ukraine plays against Romania on February 2 and against Portugal on February 4, with both matches played in Slovenia, where the final will be held in Ljubljana on February 10.
• Kherson won 4-2 against Nikars Riga (Latvia) on October 14 as part of the main round of the UEFA Futsal Cup. Kherson lost 2-4 against Ekonomac Kragujevac (Serbia), and lost 1-5 against Sporting CP (Portugal). Kherson finished in third place and advanced to the elite round, where it drew Group C with Stalitsa Minsk (Belarus), Luparense (Italy) and Gyor (Hungary). In the elite round, Kherson lost 1-3 against Luparense on November 22, lost 2-3 against Gyor on November 23, and won 7-3 on November 25 against Minsk. Kherson was eliminated after it finished in third place in the group with three points.
Tennis
• Elina Svitolina was eliminated in the quarterfinal of the China Open on October 2-8 in Beijing after losing 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-7(8) against Caroline Garcia of France. Garcia won the women’s singles. Svitolina ended her 2017 season ranked No. 6 by the WTA. Svitolina won three Premier 5 tournaments (Dubai, Rome and Toronto), and two WTA international tournaments (Taipei and Istanbul). Other Ukrainian tennis players included Lesia Tsurenko (ranked 43rd), Kateruna Kozlova (86th) and Kateryna Bondarenko (93rd). Svitolina finished the season as the ninth-highest paid female tennis player for 2017, with $3.2 million in earnings.
• Alexandr Dolgopolov lost 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-6 in the final against David Geffen of Belgium on October 1 at the Shenzhen Open in Shenzhen, China. Dolgopolov won 7-6(5), 6-4 against countryman Sergiy Stakhovsky in the round of 16. Dolgopolov moved up five places in the ATP rankings, to 36th place, and Stakhovsky remained in 102nd place.
• At the Izmir Cup in Izmir, Turkey, on September 18-24, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Denys Molchanov of Russia lost by walkover in the men’s doubles final against Scott Clayton and Jonny O’Mara, both of Great Britain.
• Ukraine won 5-0 against Israel in the first relegation round of Group 1 of the Davis Cup on September 15-17. Ukraine’s team included Illya Marchenko, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and in doubles, Denys Molchanov and Sergiy Stakhovsky. Ukraine is ranked in 28th place at 1,337.5 points. Ukraine lost 1-4 against Portugal in the second round of the Group 1 tournament for Europe/Africa, which includes 11 countries.
Boxing
• Light heavyweight Vyachevslav Shabranskyy (19-2, 16 KO) lost by second-round TKO against Sergey Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KO) of Russia on November 25 at Madison Square Garden in New York. In a fight that was scheduled for 12 rounds, Shabranskyy was sent to the canvas twice in the opening round and did not have much to offer in the second round, with another knockdown before referee Harvey Docked stopped the fight at 2:36 seconds. Kovalev regained the WBO light heavyweight title he had lost to Andre Ward, who retired and vacated his titles.
• Cruiserweight Artem Redko (21-9-3, 12 KO) lost by third-round TKO against Tervel Pulev (5-0, 5 KO) of Bulgaria on November 11 at Werner-Sellenbinder-Sportpark in Berlin.
• Super welterweight Stanislav Skorohod (12-1, 9 KO) won by fourth-round TKO against Fernando Silva (15-13-3, 6 KO) of Mexico on November 11 at Powerade Center in Brampton, Ontario. The fight was scheduled for eight rounds, and Skorohod scored two knockdowns in the fourth round before Silva’s corner threw in the towel.
• Heavyweight Iago Kiladze (25-1, 17 KO) won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds against Pedro Rodriguez (23-2, 19 KO) of Cuba on November 4 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
• Featherweight Oleg Yefrimovych (29-3-1, 16 KO) lost by sixth-round TKO against Scott Quigg (34-1-2, 25 KO) of the U.K. on November 4 at Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
• Super Middleweight Roman Shkarupa (27-7-2, 11 KO) lost by unanimous decision after 10 rounds against Lolenga Mock (41-14-1, 13 KO) of Congo on October 28 at Frederiskberg Hallerne in Copenhagen.
• Middleweight Dmytro Mytrofanov (1-0, 1 KO) won his debut professional fight by fourth-round TKO against Brandon Maddox (7-1, 5 KO) of the U.S.A. on October 27 at The Belvedere in Elk Grove Village, Ill. The fight was scheduled for six rounds. Mytrofanov, 27, won the national title in Ukraine in 2008 and 2012, and a bronze medal at the 2011 European Amateur Championships in Ankara. He also won gold at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia.
• Heavyweight Oleksandr Teslenko (11-0, 9 KO) won by second-round KO against Nick Guivas (14-9-2, 9 KO) of the U.S.A. on October 14 at the Civic Complex in Cornwall, Canada. The fight was set for eight rounds.
• Welterweight Karen Chukhadzyan (10-1, 5 KO) won by fifth-round KO against Steve Suppan (7-1-1, 4 KO) of the Netherlands on September 16 in Kyiv. The fight was sanctioned by the WBO. Also on that day, lightweight Denys Berinchyk (6-0, 4 KO) won by sixth-round TKO against Ismael Garcia (8-2, 3 KO) of Spain. The fight was scheduled for eight rounds. Super lightweight Viktor Postol (29-1, 12 KO) won by unanimous decision after 10 rounds against Jamshidbek Najmiddinov (14-1, 9 KO) of Uzbekistan.
• Middleweight Evhen Khytrov (15-1, 12 KO) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds against Derrick Findley (27-22-1, 18 KO) of the U.S.A. on September 15 at Fox-wood Casino and Resort in Mashantucket, Conn.
Mixed martial arts
• Light heavyweight Nikita Krylov (22-5, 9 KO) won by first-round TKO against Emanuel Newton (26-13, 4 KO) of the U.S.A. on October 13 in Surgut, Russia.
• Middleweight Sergey Guzev (18-3, 3 KO) won by first-round submission against Leandro Bispo (7-4, 0 KO) of Brazil on September 27 in Kyiv. The fight was sanctioned by the WWFC.
• Flyweight Alexander Doskalchuk (8-1, 3 KO) won by second-round submission against Vadim Malygin (11-3, 4 KO) of Russia on September 23 in Kazan, Russia. The fight was sanctioned by M-1 Global.
Chess
• Anna Muzychuk won the European ACP Women’s Individual Rapid Chess Championship in Monaco on October 21-22. Hosted by the European Chess Union, Muzychuk won nine out of 11 points at the tournament, having won seven matches and tied another four. Muzychuk, 27, announced on November 11 via Facebook that she would be boycotting the rapid and blitz world chess championship that is hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her motives for the boycott focus on the country’s restrictions for women. The tournament is scheduled for December 26-30. The societal restrictions are in violation of the World Chess Federation guidelines.