2007–08 Ukrainian First League

Ukrainian First League
Season	2007–08
Champions	Illichivets Mariupol
Promoted	Illichivets Mariupol FC Lviv
Relegated	MFK Mykolaiv (withdrew) Dnipro Cherkasy CSKA Kyiv Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk
Top goalscorer	22 - Matviy Bobal (Ihroservice Simferopol)
← 2006-07 2008-09 →

The 2007–08 Ukrainian First League is the seventeenth since its establishment. There were 20 teams competing. Two teams were relegated from the Ukrainian Premier League 2006-07. Four teams were promoted from the Ukrainian Second League 2006-07.

Promotion and relegation

Promoted teams

These four teams were promoted from Druha Liha at the start of the season:

Group A

FC Dnister Ovidiopil : Druha Liha champion (Debut)
FC Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk : Druha Liha runner-up (Debut)

Group B

FC Sevastopol : Druha Liha champion (Debut)
FC Feniks-Illichovets Kalinine : Druha Liha runner-up (Debut)

Relegated teams

Two teams were relegated from the Ukrainian Premier League 2006–07 season after finishing on the bottom of the competition:

FC Illichivets Mariupol : 15th place (Returning after 10 seasons)
FC Stal Alchevsk : 16th place (Returning after two seasons)

Renamed teams

On July 24, 2007 the team of "Fakel" changed its name to "Prykarpattia".^[1]

Managers

Club	Coach	Replaced coach
Desna Chernihiv	Oleksandr Ryabokon	Serhiy Kucherenko
Dniester Ovidiopol	Ihor Nehara
Dynamo-2 Kyiv	Henadiy Lytovchenko
Enerhetyk Burshtyn	Mykhaylo Savka	Mykola Prystay
Feniks-Illichovets Kalinine	Oleksandr Haidash	Oleksiy Antyukhin
Helios Kharkiv	Yuriy Pohrebnyak	Ihor Nadein
Ihroservice Simferopol	Serhiy Shevchenko
Krymteplitsia Molodizhne	Mykhailo Dunets
Obolon Kyiv	Ihor Artymovych (caretaker)	Petro Slobodyan
PFC Oleksandria	Ihor Bohatyr
Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk	Serhiy Ptashnyk
PFC Sevastopol	Serhiy Puchkov
Stal Alchevsk	Vadym Plotnikov	Oleh Smolyaninov Hennadiy Batkayev
Volyn Lutsk	Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi
Illichivets Mariupol	Oleksandr Ishchenko	Semen Altman Ivan Balan (caretaker)
FC Lviv	Stepan Yurchyshyn
MFC Mykolaiv	Vyacheslav Mazarati	Oleksandr Spitsyn (caretaker)
CSKA Kyiv	Serhiy Revut
Dnipro Cherkasy	Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi	Oleksandr Ryabokon
Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk	Vadym Lazorenko	Viktor Maslov Oleksandr Shcherbakov

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Comments
1	Illichivets Mariupol (C, P)	38	26	7	5	65	26	+39	85	(-) new – Premier League – Promoted – Champions
2	FC Lviv (P)	38	23	5	10	58	29	+29	74	Premier League – Promoted
3	Obolon Kyiv	38	22	6	10	67	42	+25	72
4	Desna Chernihiv	38	20	7	11	61	44	+17	67
5	Dynamo-2 Kyiv	38	19	6	13	64	52	+12	63
6	Ihroservice Simferopol	38	18	6	14	50	45	+5	60
7	Stal Alchevsk	38	15	13	10	52	44	+8	58	(-) new
8	PFC Oleksandria	38	14	15	9	41	32	+9	57
9	Volyn Lutsk	38	16	8	14	61	55	+6	53	–3^[2]
10	MFK Mykolaiv (R)	38	13	13	12	33	27	+6	52	Druha Liha – Relegated^[3]
11	Krymteplitsia Molodizhne	38	13	11	14	49	43	+6	50
12	FC Dniester Ovidiopol	38	12	13	13	33	39	−6	49	(+) new
13	Enerhetyk Burshtyn	38	13	9	16	39	44	−5	48
14	Helios Kharkiv	38	13	8	17	31	41	−10	47
15	PFC Sevastopol	38	12	7	19	38	55	−17	43	(+) new
16	FC Feniks-Illichovets Kalinine	38	11	8	19	35	56	−21	41	(+) new
17	Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk	38	11	6	21	37	67	−30	39	(+) new – avoided relegation^[4]
18	Dnipro Cherkasy (R)	38	8	17	13	43	43	0	35	–6^[5]– Druha Liha – Relegated
19	CSCA Kyiv (R)	38	7	6	25	36	74	−38	27	Druha Liha – Relegated
20	Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk (R)	38	3	11	24	23	58	−35	20	Druha Liha – Relegated

	Promotion to Ukrainian Premier League
	Relegation to Ukrainian Second League
	Withdrew (expelled) from PFL

Notes

↑ Decision #33 of the PFL Bureau of Ukraine. July 24, 2007.
↑ FC Volyn Lutsk was docked three (3) tournament points in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of PFL of 15 April 2008.
↑ MFK Mykolaiv informed the PFL season on 26 June 2008 that the City Administration of Mykolaiv will not be financing the team in the 2008/09 season. On 1 July 2008 the team was dissolved. On 17 July 2008 the club reapplies to the PFL and are readmitted into Druha Liha Group A for the 2008-09 season.
↑ Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk remains in the Persha Liha after MFK Mykolaiv dissolved and relegated.
↑ FC Dnipro Cherkasy docked six (6) tournament points in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of PFL of 19 June 2008 and 3 July 2008.

Top goalscorers

Scorer	Goals (pen.)	Team
Matviy Bobal	23 (6)	Ihroservice Simferopol
Pavlo Onysko	21 (1)	Obolon Kyiv
Dmytro Hordienko	18 (1)	Enerhetyk Burshtyn
Michael Chidi Alozi	15 (1)	FC Volyn Lutsk
Oleksandr Pyschur	14 (1)	FC Volyn Lutsk
Oleksandr Savanchuk	14 (7)	FC Krymteplitsia Molodizhne
Oleksandr Akymenko	13 (3)	FC Stal Alchevsk
Hryhoriy Baranets	12 (2)	FC Lviv
Andriy Shevchuk	11	PFC Sevastopol
Oleksandr Zghura	11 (5)	FC Dnister Ovidiopol

Teams

Mykolaiv

Locations of teams in First League

Stadia

Rank	Stadium	Capacity	Club	Region
1	Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium	16873	FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv	Kiev
2	MCS Rukh	16000	FSC Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk	Ivano-Frankivsk
3	Illychivets	12680	FC Illichivets Mariupol	Donetsk
4	Youri Haharyn	12000	FC Desna Chernihiv	Chernihiv
5	CSK ZSU	12000	CSCA Kyiv	Kiev
6	Avanhard	11574	FC Volyn Lutsk	Lutsk
7	Central	10321	FC Dnipro Cherkasy	Cherkasy
8	Stal	9200	FC Stal Alchevsk	Luhansk
9	SK Sevastopol	6500	PFC Sevastopol	Crimea
10	Dynamo	6000	FC Helios Kharkiv	Kharkiv
11	KSC Nika	5640	PFC Oleksandria	Kirovohrad
12	Fiolent	5000	FC Ihroservice Simferopol	Crimea
13	Enerhetyk Stadium	4000	FC Enerhetyk Burshtyn	Ivano-Frankivsk
14	Kniazha Arena	3220	FC Lviv	Lviv
15	STC Krymteplitsia	3000	FC Krymteplitsia Molodizhne	Crimea
16	Metalurh	2900	FC Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk	Dnipropetrovsk
17	Central City Stadium	1500	MFK Mykolaiv	Mykolaiv
18	Dukov Dniester Stadium	1500	FC Dniester Ovidiopol	Odessa
19	Obolon	4300	FC Obolon Kyiv	Kiev
20	Kalinino	1050	FC Feniks-Illichovets Kalinine	Crimea

Post-season withdrawn teams

On June 26, 2008 MFC Mykolaiv was withdrawn from competitions. On July 1, 2008 the club was announced about the official disbandment. Due to the public pressure and with help of Hryhoriy Surkis, it became possible to preserve the club in professional competitions. MFK Mykolaiv was admitted to the 2008-09 Ukrainian Second League instead of the third team of Dynamo, FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv.