Vitaliy Boyko needed just three minutes to open the scoring as "Veres" secured a confident 2-0 away victory against "LNZ" in the fourth round of the Ukrainian Premier League.
"The early goal set the tone for our performance today. We executed our game plan perfectly and deserved all three points," – Oleh Shandruk, Veres head coach, commented after the match.
Denis Ndukwe doubled the advantage for the Rivne side in the 69th minute, effectively sealing the result for the visitors who dominated proceedings throughout most of the game.
Things went from bad to worse for the Cherkasy hosts when Nazariy Muravskyi received his second yellow card in the 81st minute, leaving "LNZ" to finish the match with ten men.
Interestingly, "Veres" maintained their clean sheet despite collecting five yellow cards themselves, with Smiyan, Kharatin, Sharai, Ndukwe, and Goncharenko all entering the referee's book during the contest.
The victory for Shandruk's team demonstrated their growing form in the league campaign. Both Boyko and Ndukwe were eventually substituted in the closing stages as "Veres" comfortably managed the game.
"LNZ" tried various tactical adjustments, making several substitutions including bringing on Ryabov and Momo in the 52nd minute, but they couldn't find a way through the organized Rivne defense.
Can "Veres" maintain this momentum in the upcoming fixtures? This convincing away performance certainly suggests they have the quality to challenge the league's top teams.
