Photo: rcolimp.com.ua

The playoffs

1/4 finals

Polytechnic-Wolverine (Kyiv) – “Antares” (Kyiv) – 3:15 (3:8).

Sokol (Lviv) – Rebels (Kyiv) – 57:32 (52:6).

1/2 final

Podillya (Khmelnitsky) – Antares – 33:6 (15:3).

Points: skirts – 4 attempts (Shulyak – 2, Koshelyuk, Serdyuk), 2 implementation (par.Leshchenko), 2 penalties (par.Leshchenko), drop goal (Shulyak); the Antares – 2 penalty (Berezansky – 2).

Olympus (Kharkov) – Falcon – 30:0 (no show).

We have already reported about the surprise in the 1/4 finals gave the wards of coach capital “Antares” Vitaly Roganova, who won favourite “Kyiv Derby” team “Wolverines-Polytechnic”, made up of students of NTUU “KPI” and the pupils of DYUSSH “Irpin”.

And the fact that the other game in this stage, a multiple winner of national Championships “Falcon” in his field defeated the “Rebels”, to the category of unexpected, naturally, do not. In addition, on the side of Lviv, in addition to their far greater experience, was the factor of native walls, and the fact that guests were able to arrive at a meeting just two hours before it started, and even without their injured player-coach and leader, midfielder-conductor Andrei Belousov.

The first half of the match passed under dictation of patronage of the coach “the Falcon” Yury Grabovsky, who eight times took “the town” guests, and your left intact and allowed the opponents to score the winning goal just two well-aimed penalty. But in the second half, when the owners have made a number of substitutions, instead of releasing players “fundamentals” is still a little obstreperous young people, the course of the game went backwards. Now the initiative almost completely moved to Kiev, which is four times printed “record book” of Lviv, to which they answered one such skid. However, to eliminate all 46-point gap that emerged after the first half, daring guests is not enough.

If the current and the repeated champion of the country “Olympus” has overcome the barrier of the 1/2 final “automatic” as Lvov, considering their chances of winning quite futile, chose not to appear in Kharkov and to save his strength for the duel for bronze, Antares, even without several key injured forwards the first and second lines, the “fights” all the bus shortly before the start of the match arrived in Khmelnitsky. And had the same acting bronze prize-winners of the country the previous two seasons, the current contenders for the medals higher sample desperate resistance.

But power was unequal. The Rugby players “skirts” managed in each half twice to place the ball in the “city” hotel. Twice your “autograph” left midfielder Miroslav citizens Shulyak, still on the skid made Vadim Koshelyuk and Constantine Serdyuk. Plus scorer of owners Alexey Leshchenko two of these attempts reinforced clear implementations and has scored as many free throws, and Shulyak scored with a shot from the rebound. “Stargazers” has managed to meet two “standards” in the performance of fobeka Alexander Berezan.

On 8 October at the Kiev stadium “Spartak” will be held crowning the national championship celebration tamers oval ball. Here at the Mecca of Ukrainian Rugby, this Sunday afternoon, starting at 11.00, will be crucial matches for the distribution 1-6-go in the national Superleague. For the 5th final position argue “Polytechnic-Wolverine – Rebels”, bronze medals will be performing “the Falcon” – “Antares” in the final game for gold will sort things out – “skirts”.

Vladimir KAZIMIROV, Sport-Express in Ukraine