The 2018–19 Ukrainian Second League was the 28th since its establishment. The competition started on 21 July 2018 with the match between Myr and FC Nikopol.
The competition entered in recess for a winter break which started after the completion of Round 17 on 11 November 2018 and resumed on 31 March 2019. The season competitions were scheduled to be completed on 1 June 2019 (later ending on 25 May 2019 due to reduction of participants) culminating with a two legged play-off for promotion held between the two second place from both groups and the 13th and 14th placed teams from the 2018–19 Ukrainian First League on 29 May and 2 June 2019.
Format The PFL composition of the league was approved at the PFL Conference on 27 June 2017, yet the final composition with the competition regulations will be approved later by the FFU Executive Committee.
The competition is conducted in a triple round robin format. The PFL reinstated direct promotion and relegation between the Second League and the Ukrainian Amateur Football Championship. Some other administrative changes will be introduced for the season in Second League, such as names on jerseys, the PFL emblem, others. In addition, the FFU approved a list of stadiums for each league.
Each winner of group earns a direct promotion, while each runner will contest additional promotion with 13th/14th places of the First League. In case of the Ukrainian Premier League expansion for the next season, winners and second placed teams will get direct promotion, while in play-off will participate third placed teams.
One team from each group with the worst record will be relegated. Those two teams will be swapped with four teams from the Ukrainian Amateur Football Championship.For the four places in the 2019-20 Ukrainian Second League will be about 10 candidates (На четыре места во Второй лиге-2019/20 будет около десяти кандидатов). Sport Arena. 15 November 2018
Teams
Promoted teams The final composition of the league was adopted at the PFL Conference on 27 June 2018. In the midst of the previous season some several amateur teams expressed their intention to play in Druha Liha. The following teams have been admitted from the 2017–18 Ukrainian Football Amateur League: Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka – 5th place of Group 2 (debut) Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih – 5th place of Group 3 (returning after an absence of five seasons) Metalurh Zaporizhya – 4th place of Group 3 (debut, a club with the same name competed last season) FC Kalush – 5th place of Group 1 (returning after an absence of thirteen seasons) Krystal Kherson – 2nd place of Group 3 (returning after an absence of a season after reorganization) FC Mynai – 1st place of Group 1 (debut)
Relegated teams There were two teams relegated from the 2017–18 Ukrainian First League: Kremin Kremenchuk – 16th place (returning after an absence of a season) Cherkaskyi Dnipro – 17th place (returning after an absence of three seasons), later dissolved and reorganized as FC Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya
Swapped teams Veres Rivne – 6th place of the 2017–18 Ukrainian Premier League (returning after an absence of two seasons). The club passed attestation and assumed the position in the league instead of FC Lviv and returned to Rivne Oblast.
Renamed/reformed teams FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro was dissolved in July 2018, and reorganized as FC Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya based on its academy from Bilozirya assumed the place of Cherkaskyi Dnipro in the Second League instead.The first away game, calendar of the Ukrainian Championship among teams of the Second League (Group A) (ПЕРША ГРА НА ВИЇЗДІ. КАЛЕНДАР ЧЕМПІОНАТУ УКРАЇНИ СЕРЕД КОМАНД 2-ОЇ ЛІГИ (ГРУПА "А")). FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro. 9 July 2018Announcement (at the front page). FC Cherkaskyi Dnipro. 9 July 2018 FC Nyva-V Vinnytsia renamed themselves back to their former name FC Nyva Vinnytsia.
Expelled/withdrawn teams Naftovyk-Ukrnafta Okhtyrka – passed attestation and even was given opportunity to return to the First League,There became known the groups' composition of the Second League (Стал известен состав групп Второй лиги). Sport Arena. 27 June 2018Naftovyk or Kremin will replace Poltava in the First League (Нафтовик или Кремень заменят Полтаву в Первой лиге). Sport Arena. 27 June 2018 but Okhtyrka city mayor Ihor Alekseyev confirmed in May that the club was dissolved by its main sponsor Ukrnafta.The city mayor of Okhtyrka Alekseyev: Naftovyk-Ukrnafta is ceasing its existence (Міський голова Охтирки Алєксєєв: Нафтовик-Укрнафта припинить своє існування). Football 24. 26 May 2018 The final decision about the team participation in the season was announced on 11 July 2018, and the season calendar was published without team from Okhtyrka. Arsenal-Kyivshchyna Bila Tserkva – failed attestation FC Dnipro – the club failed attestation for the season and were approved by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to be relegated to a lower classification level due to unpaid old debts FC Metalurh Zaporizhzhia – prior to attestation, the club merged with FC Spartak-KPU Zaporizhzhia (a team of local university, KPU), but on 6 June 2018, the club failed attestation for the season and the club's administration decided to dissolve the team Inhulets-2 Petrove – the main club's administration of Inhulets Petrove decided to dissolve the second team Sudnobudivnyk Mykolaiv – failed attestation Skala Stryi – passed attestation, but dissolved its senior team protesting the FFU accusations in gambling.Valerko, A. All players of FC Skala are free agents. The club awaits the FFU decision (Все игроки ФК Скала – свободные агенты. Клуб ждет решения ФФУ). Sport Arena. 7 June 2018Skala withdrew from Druha Liha and will concentrate on youth football (Скала снялась со Второй лиги и сосредоточится на детско-юношеском футболе). Sport Arena. 19 June 2018Samotkan, Yu. (9 July 2018). Serhiy Markov: "Sport principle is not compromised, in the First League are 16 teams (Сергей Макаров: "Спортивный принцип не нарушаем - в первой лиге 16 команд"). Footboom. On 14 June 2018, there appeared information that the club will merge its academy with FC Volyn Lutsk.Konkevych, Yu. Volyn and Skala are uniting their children schools (Волынь и Скала объединят свои детские школы). Sport Arena. 14 June 2018
Location map The following map displays the location of teams. Group A teams marked in red. Group B teams marked in green.
Stadiums Group A Team Stadium Position in2017–18Bukovyna Chernivtsi Bukovyna Stadium 6thChaika Dinaz StadiumM.K.Brukvenko Central StadiumAm2, 5thCherkashchyna-Akademiya Zorya StadiumFL, 17thFC Kalush Khimik Stadium Am1, 5thFC Mynai Mynai-Arena Am1, 1stNyva Ternopil City Stadium 7thNyva Vinnytsia Central City StadiumSports Complex Nyva3rdPodillya Khmelnytskyi Sport Complex Podillya9thPolissya Zhytomyr Avanhard StadiumArsenal Stadium8thVeres Rivne Kolos StadiumPL, 6th Group B Team Stadium Position in2017–18Enerhiya Nova Kakhovka Enerhiya Stadium3rdHirnyk Kryvyi Rih Zhovtnevyi Stadium Am3, 5thKremin Kremenchuk Kremin StadiumFL, 16thKrystal Kherson Krystal Stadium Am3, 2ndMetalurh Zaporizhya Slavutych-ArenaAm3, 4thMFC Mykolaiv-2 Central City StadiumPark Peremohy Stadium 9thMyr Hornostayivka Zatys Stadium5thFC Nikopol Elektrometalurh Stadium7thReal Pharma Odesa Ivan Stadium6thTavriya Simferopol Mashynobudivnyk Stadium4th
Notes:
Chaika although located in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion outside the city limits of Kyiv began the competition playing in Lyutizh, Vyshhorod Raion since their usual home ground, Kozak-Arena was not in a prepared state. From Round 9 the club moved their home matches to Makariv due to the heat affecting players playing on the artificial surface at Dinaz Stadium. Cherkashchyna-Akademiya play their home matches in the Zorya Stadium, located in Bilozirya in Cherkasy Raion near the city of Cherkasy. Polissya Zhytomyr continue to play their home games in Novohrad-Volynskyi due to the construction of both Central Stadium and Spartak Stadium Following the winter break the club moved its home games to the Kyiv's suburb Shchaslyve. Due to the unavailability of Avanhard Stadium, Veres Rivne play in Mlyniv. Tavriya Simferopol continue to play their home matches in Beryslav although they had registered to play at Enerhiya Stadium in Nova Kakhovka. All matches will be played in Kherson Oblast of Ukraine due to the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
Managers ClubHead coachReplaced coach Bukovyna Chernivtsi Vitaliy Kunytsia (interim) Viktor Mhlynets Chaika Petropavlivska Borshchahivka Taras Ilnytskyi Viacheslav Bohodyelov Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya Oleksandr Kyrylyuk Enerhiya Nova Kakhovka Oleh Fedorchuk Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih Hennadiy Prykhodko FC Kalush Andriy Nesteruk (interim) Vasyl Malyk Kremin Kremenchuk Ihor Stolovytskyi Krystal Kherson Andriy Kononenko (interim) Oleksandr Ovchynnikov Serhiy Shevtsov (interim) Metalurh Zaporizhya Oleh Taran MFC Mykolaiv-2 Volodymyr Ponomarenko Vyacheslav Mazarati FC Mynai Kirill Kurenko Ihor Kharkovshchenko Myr Hornostayivka Oleksandr Sapelnyak FC Nikopol Hryhoriy Varzhelenko Nyva Ternopil Vasyl Malyk Vitaliy Shumskyi Vadym Bozhenko (interim) Oleksandr Stakhiv Nyva Vinnytsia Colince Ngaha Denys Kolchin Podillya Khmelnytskyi Vitaliy Kostyshyn Polissya Zhytomyr Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi Oleksandr Pryzetko Real Pharma Odesa Andriy Kovalenko Tavriya Simferopol Serhiy Shevchenko Veres Rivne Oleh Shandruk Volodymyr Homenyuk
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyTableIncoming head coachDate of appointmentTable Metalurh Zaporizhzhia Volodymyr Shapovalov End of contract 7 June 2018Pre-season Oleh Taran 7 June 2018Pre-season Veres Rivne Andriy Demchenko (interim) Stayed with FC Lviv 8 June 2018 Volodymyr Homenyuk 14 June 2018 Kremin Kremenchuk Serhiy Yashchenko Change of position 18 June 2018 Ihor Stolovytskyi 18 June 2018 Chaika P. Borshchahivka Anatoliy Kretov Sacked 15 July 2018 Viacheslav Bohodyelov 16 July 2018 Cherkashchyna-Akademiya Bilozirya Re-organized team Oleksandr Kyrylyuk 21 July 2018 Veres Rivne Volodymyr Homenyuk Resigns 7 August 2018 9th Oleh Shandruk (interim) 7 August 2018 9th Polissya Zhytomyr Oleksandr Pryzetko Fired 21 August 2018 8th Anatoliy Bezsmertnyi 21 August 2018 8th Krystal Kherson Oleksandr Ovchynnikov Resigned 14 September 2018 4th Serhiy Shevtsov (interim) 14 September 2018 4thNyva Ternopil Vitaliy Shumskyi Resigned 24 September 2018 8th Vadym Bozhenko (interim) 24 September 2018 8th Vadym Bozhenko (interim) End of interim spell 16 October 2018 7th Oleksandr Stakhiv 16 October 2018 7th Chaika P. Borshchahivka Viacheslav Bohodyelov Sacked 20 October 2018 10th Taras Ilnytskyi 21 October 2018Chaika P. Borshchahivka. Footballfacts.ru. 10th Nyva Vinnytsia Denys Kolchin Contract ended 13 November 2018 4th(winter break) Colince Ngaha 27 January 2019 4th(winter break) Kalush Vasyl Malyk Resigned 22 November 2018 3rd(winter break) Andriy Nesteruk (interim) 2 January 2019 3rd(winter break) Bukovyna Chernivtsi Viktor Mhlynets Resigned 4 December 2018 10th(winter break) Vitaliy Kunytsia (interim) 4 December 2018 10th(winter break) Nyva Ternopil Oleksandr Stakhiv Change of position 10 January 2019 7th(winter break) Vasyl Malyk 10 January 2019 7th(winter break) MFC Mykolaiv-2 Vyacheslav Mazarati Change of position 24 January 2019 7th(winter break) Volodymyr Ponomarenko 24 January 2019 7th(winter break) Krystal Kherson Serhiy Shevtsov Resigned 25 April 2019 4th Andriy Kononenko (interim) 26 April 2019 4thFC Mynai Ihor Kharkovshchenko Resigned 3 May 2019 4th Kirill Kurenko 3 May 2019 4th Kirill Kurenko Reassigned 15 May 2019 3rd Kirill Kurenko 15 May 2019 3rd Notes: After Round 9, Denys Kolchin submitted his resignation but the President of the club, Vasyl Vovk refused to accept it. Ihor Stolovytskyi left Cherkaskyi Dnipro for Kremin prior to the season starting.
Group A League table
Results
Position by round
Goalscorers