November 6th, 18:00, Arena ATEK. Broadcast: YouTube FHU
After 11 official matches in the 2024/2025 season, the first derby between Sokil and Capitals in the new game year is set to take place on Tuesday. So far this season, the teams played only one match in championship. Oleg Shafarenko’s team lost in game against Storm-Odesa in a series of shootouts at home, while the match against Kremenchuk was postponed due to an infection of Sokil`s players.
In October, the current Ukrainian champions participated in three matches during the second stage of the Continental Cup. They faced tough competition, losing to Ritten from Italy, Jesenice from Slovenia, and Sisak from Croatia, ultimately concluding their run at the Euroarena. Meanwhile, Kyiv Capitals missed the first round of championship due to a postponed match with Kryzhynka, but secured a victory against Dnipro Kherson in the second round.
In terms of changes to the team roster, notable players such as Artem Bondariev, Serhii Babynets, Yevhen Hovorushko, Ihor Sliusar, Roman Blahyi, and Volodymyr Aleksiuk have left Sokil.
Instead, the most part of Sokil newcomers were young players, including Denys Zherebko, Yehor Shurak, Matvii Burdakov, Artem Kalsin, and Dmytro Savchuk. However, before to the championship’s start, Tymofii Savytskyi from Kremenchuk, as well as Pavlo Dvoretskyi and Pavlo Taran, who previously played for Tryzub in the Ukrainian Cup, joined Oleg Shafarenko’s team. It`s noteworthy that during the season, Taran may face his former team, Kyiv Capitals, as a part of the second another team in a row. On the other hand, the visiting team recently announced the American goalkeeper Nick Vilardo who is in tryout now.
In head-to-head matchups, our opponents hold an advantage. Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team secured on victory in the six regular-season matches and one victory in the semi-final playoff series. In the offseason, our team triumphed over Sokil with a score of 3:0 in their solitary face-to-face encounter. It’s essential to mention that the opposing team played without key players from the Ukrainian national team and head coach Oleg Shafarenko.
Therefore, the upcoming championship heralds another chapter in the riveting face-to-face battles between these teams.
