Friendlies Clubs· Season 2026
Veres Rivne beat UCSA 3-0 in a four-quarter friendly at Stadion Avanhard. A trialist broke the deadlock at 88', followed by Hodia (pen) and Stamulis.
Match Analysis
AI SummaryHow it unfolded
The match was played over four 30-minute quarters by prior agreement between the clubs. The first two hours produced no goals despite Veres creating several clear chances. In the second quarter, Guilherme Bahia pressed high, won the ball and set up Rostyslav Baran, who drove into the box but shot wide of the far post. Moments later, Guilherme forced a save from the UCSA goalkeeper and Nathaniel Blair somehow failed to convert the rebound from five metres.
Aladzhi Wally had the best chance of the third quarter, finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper but shooting wide of the far post.
88' — Trialist 1-0: The breakthrough came via a trialist. Andre Gonsalvesh delivered a cross from the right flank and an unnamed trialist headed home from close range at the far post.
101' — Dmytro Hodia 2-0 (penalty): UCSA were forced to push forward in the final quarter and were caught out. A handball in the box gave Veres a penalty, which Dmytro Hodia converted.
117' — Konstantinos Stamulis 3-0: Gonsalvesh turned provider again, this time crossing from the left. Konstantinos Stamulis met it with a header to round off the scoring.
The turning point
The decisive moment was the 88th-minute opener. Veres had dominated possession and created chances across the first three quarters — Wally's one-on-one miss and Blair's rebound from close range could have left them frustrated. The trialist's header from Gonsalvesh's cross broke UCSA's resistance and forced the visitors to gamble forward, leaving space for the second and third goals.
Key performers
Andre Gonsalvesh was the standout player, providing two assists — one from each flank — after coming on at the start of the second half (61'). His deliveries proved decisive in a match that had been goalless for 88 minutes.
Konstantinos Stamulis (player of the match) entered at the same interval, moved from midfield to defence, and capped the performance with a clinical header. His defensive solidity also helped Veres keep a clean sheet.
Dmytro Hodia scored the penalty and ran the midfield after the break, though he was booked for a 69th-minute foul.
By the numbers — interpreted
Veres deployed a completely different XI in the second half (10 changes at 61'), which is standard for pre-season friendlies. The three goals all came from players who entered at the half-way point — Gonsalvesh, Hodia and Stamulis — suggesting the second-string unit had greater impact in the final third. The clean sheet was built on goalkeeper rotations: Pavlo Stefanyuk started, Artem Horokh took over at 61' and Kharechko played the final quarter. No official xG or possession data was published for this fixture.
What it means
This was Veres' third pre-season friendly of the summer. After a 1-1 draw with Fenix-Mariupol (27 June) and a 2-3 loss to Bukovyna (1 July), this 3-0 win provides momentum heading into the final month of preparations. Veres finished 11th in the Ukrainian Premier League last season (31 points) and open the 2026/27 UPL campaign away to FC Kharkiv on 1 August. UCSA, who finished 11th in the Ukrainian First League (36 points), begin their season against Polissya-2 on 25 July.
Verdict
A straightforward pre-season workout that told Veres more about their squad depth than their starting XI. The three goals came after wholesale changes, and the trialist who scored the opener may have earned himself a closer look from Oleh Shandruk's coaching staff. The clean sheet was the first of the pre-season and will satisfy the manager.
Statistics are for informational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
API data: 5 Jul 2026