On their way to the final, Mykolaiv defeated Medobory from Zelenyi, Ternopil Oblast, in the 1/8 finals (1-1, 4-0), SC Vilkhivtsi from Zakarpattia in the quarterfinals (2-1, 3-0), and Blago-Yunist from Verkhni, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in the semifinals (0-1, 2-0).
The team from Mykolaiv competed for gold medals with Sturm from Ivankiv, Kyiv region. The final part of the competition also consisted of two matches. In the first match, which was an away game for the Lviv team, the rivals drew 2-2. On 8 May, the return leg took place in Mykolaiv, and the fate of the trophy depended on it.
From the start, the teams played cautiously and went into the break with zeroes on the scoreboard. At the end of the second half, Mykolaiv’s Nazar Tsyupka scored a goal to put the team ahead. But Sturm’s Denys Khrul equalised in stoppage time. The result was another draw, but with a score of 1-1.
Due to the higher number of goals scored away from home (this is the rule in amateur football), the trophy went to the Mykolaiv football club.
“The football team in Mykolaiv was founded back in the 1950s, and this is the first time in our long history that we have reached the final and won the Ukrainian Cup among amateur teams. This is a very significant event for us. After the away game in Kyiv, we realised that we had a great chance of winning the trophy. We believed in it. Anything can happen in football, but we could not miss this chance on our home field with our support,” says Mykola Oprysk, President of Mykolaiv Football Club.
By the way, Nazar Tsyupka became the top scorer of the Ukrainian Amateur Cup, scoring five goals in the tournament.
“Mykolaiv became the fourth team from Lviv Oblast to win the Ukrainian Amateur Cup. Previously, this trophy was won by Zhovkva’s Garay (2002), Kamianka-Buzka’s Karpaty (2006) and Sosnivka’s Hirnyk (2015),” adds Roman Khimyak, head of the Youth and Sports Department of the Lviv Regional Military Administration.