# 2008–09 Ukrainian Second League

The 2008–09 Ukrainian Second League was the 18th season of 3rd level professional football in Ukraine. The competitions were divided into two groups – A and B.

## Competition information

Note: Relegation from the League is not covered by the current regulations. The placing of teams in the table is done in the following order:
* number of accumulated points
* number of wins
* difference(GD) between goals for(GF) and goals allowed(GA)
* number of goals for
* The League Fair-play ranking
The next tie-break is a simple draw.

## Team changes
### Admitted teams

The following teams were promoted from the 2008 Ukrainian Football Amateur League:
* FC Bastion Illichivsk – first group stage participant (debut)
* FC Desna-2 Chernihiv – first group stage participant (debut)
* FC Dnipro-75 Dnipropetrovsk – first group stage participant (debut)
Also, two more reserve teams were admitted:
* FC Knyazha-2 Schaslyve – (debut)
* PFC Sevastopol-2 – (debut)
Also, one team was re-admitted:
* MFC Mykolaiv was admitted to the Second League in expense of FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv.

### Relegated teams

The following teams were relegated from the 2007–08 Ukrainian First League:
* MFC Mykolaiv – 10th place (returning after an absence of two seasons)
* FC Dnipro Cherkasy – 18th place (returning after an absence of two seasons)
* FC CSKA Kyiv – 19th place (returning after an absence of 12 seasons)
** Originally promoted to the First League as a second team of FC CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv.
* FC Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk – 20th place (returning after an absence of four seasons)

### Renamed teams

* A teams swap de facto took place when FC Olimpik Kirovohrad was renamed into FC Zirka Kirovohrad and reorganized. Previously in 2007 both Olimpik and Zirka played in the Amateur League. Following reorganization Olimpik continued its participation at amateur level, while Zirka started to play at professional level.
* Nyva-Svitanok Vinnytsia renamed themselves prior to the start of the season to Nyva Vinnytsia.
* FC Podillya-Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi renamed themselves to Dynamo Khmelnytskyi on March 2, 2009 (during the season).
* FC Yavir Krasnopillya changed their name to FC Sumy on September 11, 2008 (during the season).

### Withdrawn (expelled) teams

* FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv withdrew out of courtesy before the start of the season to allow MFK Mykolaiv to enter the competition.
* FC Khimik Krasnoperekopsk did not submit a license for the season and withdrew from the PFL.
* FC Enerhiya Yuzhnoukrainsk withdrew from the PFL before the start of the season citing financial difficulties.
* FC Desna-2 Chernihiv did not arrive On October 25, 2008 for the match against their opponent FC Knjazha-2 Schaslyve and subsequently withdrew from the PFL on October 29, 2008.
* FC Obolon-2 Kyiv withdrew after the winter-break.
* FC Knyazha-2 Shchaslyve withdrew after the winter-break.
* PFC Sevastopol-2 withdrew after the winter-break.
* FC Korosten was expelled from the PFL after the 22nd round for not arriving to a scheduled game for the second time in the 2008–09 season.
* FC Dnipro Cherkasy was expelled from the competition after the 28th round.

### Location map
## Competitions
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | FC Nyva Ternopil (C, P) | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 71 | Promoted to First League |
| 2 | FC Arsenal Bila Tserkva (P) | 32 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 51 | 31 | +20 | 67 | Playoff game winner Promoted to First League |
| 3 | PFC Nyva Vinnytsia | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 61 | Name change |
| 4 | FC CSCA Kyiv | 32 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 57 | |
| 5 | FC Nafkom Brovary | 32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 52 | Withdrew |
| 6 | FC Bastion Illichivsk | 32 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 52 | |
| 7 | FC Dnipro Cherkasy | 32 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 37 | 20 | +17 | 50 | Expelled |
| 8 | FC Dynamo Khmelnytskyi | 32 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 47 | Name change |
| 9 | FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 32 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 44 | |
| 10 | FC Ros Bila Tserkva | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 44 | |
| 11 | MFK Mykolaiv | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 27 | +1 | 43 | |
| 12 | FC Yednist' Plysky | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 40 | |
| 13 | FC Veres Rivne | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 32 | −8 | 39 | |
| 14 | FC Karpaty-2 Lviv | 32 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 45 | −17 | 34 | |
| 15 | FC Korosten | 32 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 23 | Expelled |
| 16 | FC Obolon-2 Kyiv | 32 | 5 | 4 | 23 | 20 | 30 | −10 | 19 | Withdrew |
| 17 | FC Knjazha-2 Schaslyve | 32 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 15 | 35 | −20 | 14 | Withdrew |
* ↑ Nyva Vinnytsia renamed themselves from Nyva-Svitanok prior to the start of the season
* ↑ FC Dnipro Cherkasy deducted 6 points by the Ukrainian Football Federation. Three points on November 2, 2008 and three points on March 26, 2009. The club failed to arrive for their 29th and 30th Round games and subsequently were expelled from the competition by the PFL.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000008-QINU`"'
* ↑ FC Podillya-Khmelnytskyi renamed themselves to Dynamo Khmelnytskyi on March 2, 2009.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000A-QINU`"'
* ↑ MFK Mykolaiv were readmitted into the PFL after dissolving at the end of the Persha Liha 2007–08 season at the expense of FC Dynamo-3 Kyiv who withdrew from the competition
* ↑ FC Korosten deducted 3 points by the Ukrainian Football Federation on March 26, 2009. After not arriving for their 22nd-round game against Veres Rivne, the PFL expelled FC Korosten from the professional leagues.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000D-QINU`"'

#### Withdrawn teams
##### Desna-2 Chernihiv

On October 25, 2008 FC Desna-2 Chernihiv did not arrive for the match against their opponent FC Knjazha-2 Schaslyve and subsequently withdrew from the PFL on October 29, 2008. The PFL annulled all their results from the competition and adjusted the standings. Desna-2 Chernihiv had a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 12 losses scoring 7 goals and having 24 goals scored against them.

##### Obolon-2 Kyiv

Obolon-2 withdrew after the winter-break. Obolon-2 Kyiv after 20 games had a record of 5 wins, 4 draws and 11 losses scoring 20 goals and having 31 goals scored against them and were in 16th place in the standings.

##### Knyazha-2 Schaslyve

Knyazha-2 withdrew after the winter-break. FC Knjazha-2 Schaslyve after 20 games had a record of 4 wins, 2 draws and 14 losses scoring 15 goals and having 35 goals scored against them and were in 17th place in the standings.

##### Nafkom Brovary

Nafkom withdrew after the season completed failing to receive a professional license. Most of its players joined Nyva Vinnytsia.

#### Expelled teams
##### FC Korosten

FC Korosten was expelled from the PFL after the 22nd round for not arriving to a scheduled game for the second time in the 2008–09 season. FC Korosten after 21 games had a record of 8 wins, 2 draws and 11 losses scoring 24 goals and having 36 goals scored against them and were in 11th place in the standings.

##### Dnipro Cherkasy

Dnipro were expelled from the competition after the 28th round. The club failed to arrive for their 29th and 30th-round games. Dnipro Cherkasy after 27 games had a record of 17 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses scoring 37 goals and having 14 scored against them and were in 3rd place in the standings.

### Top goalscorers

| Scorer | Goals (Pen.) | Team |
| Pavlo Malyi | 13 | Nyva Ternopil |
| Kostiantyn Derevliov | 13 (7) | Arsenal Bila Tserkva |
| Roman Pitsur | 12 | Arsenal Bila Tserkva |
| Serhiy Kushka | 10 (3) | Nafkom Brovary |
| Maksym Ilyuk | 7 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi |
| Dmytro Kozban | 7 | Knjazha-2 Schaslyve/Nafkom Brovary |
| Mykola Tararov | 7 | Bastion Illichivsk |
| Vasyl Tovkatskyi | 7 | Nyva Ternopil/Arsenal Bila Tserkva |
| Andriy Veretynskyi | 7 (3) | Nyva Vinnytsia |
| Oleksiy Kolesnykov | 7 (3) | Dynamo Khmelnytskyi |
* ^6 Ilyuk signed with Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk (December 12, 2008)
* ^7 Kozban signed with Nafkom after Knjazha-2 withdrew from the competition and he was granted free agent status from the PFL
* ^8 Tovkatsky signed with Arsenal Bila Tserkva after the winter break

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Zirka Kirovohrad (C, P) | 34 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 72 | Promoted to First League – Name Change |
| 2 | FC Poltava | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 52 | 23 | +29 | 72 | Playoff game |
| 3 | Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 29 | +33 | 70 | |
| 4 | Tytan Armyansk | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 55 | 31 | +24 | 64 | |
| 5 | Shakhtar-3 Donetsk | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 66 | 44 | +22 | 58 | |
| 6 | Olimpik Donetsk | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 55 | 32 | +23 | 57 | |
| 7 | Olkom Melitopol | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 50 | |
| 8 | Shakhtar Sverdlovsk | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 46 | |
| 9 | Tytan Donetsk | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 37 | 33 | +4 | 44 | Withdrew |
| 10 | Illichivets-2 Mariupol | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 44 | |
| 11 | Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 41 | |
| 12 | Arsenal Kharkiv | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 40 | Withdrew |
| 13 | Hirnyk-Sport Komsomolsk | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 28 | 45 | −17 | 35 | |
| 14 | Kremin Kremenchuk | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 34 | |
| 15 | Metalurh-2 Zaporizhzhia | 34 | 9 | 4 | 21 | 35 | 68 | −33 | 31 | |
| 16 | Dnipro-75 Dnipropetrovsk | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 28 | 56 | −28 | 24 | |
| 17 | FC Sumy | 34 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 27 | 60 | −33 | 22 | Name change |
| 18 | PFC Sevastopol-2 | 34 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 39 | −22 | 10 | Withdrew |
* ↑ Prior to the start of the season FC Olimpik Kirovohrad changed back its name to Zirka, and Zirka that participated in amateur competitions became Olimpik.
* 1 2 3 FC Tytan Donetsk, FC Shakhtar Sverdlovsk, and FC Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih deducted three points on June 18, 2009.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000025-QINU`"'
* 1 2 3 4 FC Arsenal Kharkiv, FC Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih, FC Dnipro-75 Dnipropetrovsk, and FC Sumy were deducted three points for non-paying the participation fees; FC Hirnyk Kryvyi Rih, FC Dnipro-75 Dnipropetrovsk, and FC Sumy were deducted additional three points for non-paying the participation fees for the second half of the season. The decision was officially declared by the Disciplinary Committee of PFL on May 28, 2009'"`UNIQ--ref-00000028-QINU`"'
* ↑ FC Kremin Kremenchuk deducted 3 points by the Ukrainian Football Federation March 26, 2008
* ↑ FC Yavir Krasnopillya changed their name to FC Sumy on September 11, 2008

#### Withdrawn teams
##### PFC Sevastopol-2 Sevastopol

PFC Sevastopol-2 withdrew after the winter-break. PFC Sevastopol-2 Sevastopol after 21 games had a record of 2 wins, 4 draws and 15 losses scoring 17 goals and having 39 goals scored against them and were in 17th place in the standings.

##### Arsenal Kharkiv

Arsenal withdrew after the season completed failing to receive a professional license.

##### Tytan Donetsk

Tytan failed to pay license fees for the next season and subsequently the PFL withdrew their professional status in the league.

### Top goalscorers

| Scorer | Goals (Pen.) | Team |
| Ihor Bezdolnyi | 22 (5) | Titan Armyansk |
| Denys Berezhnyi | 17 (2) | Hirnyk/Stal |
| Ihor Melnyk | 15 (2) | Illichivets-2 Mariupol |
| Vitaliy Ponomar | 15 (2) | Shakhtar-3 Donetsk |
| Kostiantyn Dudchenko | 12 | Olkom Melitopol |
| Serhiy Yakovenko | 12 (6) | Zirka Kirovohrad |
* ^14 Berezhny signed with Stal' during the winter break
* ^15 Melnyk promoted to the main squad of FC Illichivets Mariupol after the winter break
* ^16 Dudchenko signed with Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv (January 9, 2009)

### Playoff game

Due to FC Ihroservice Simferopol failing to pay their license dues for the 2009–10 Ukrainian First League season the PFL allowed an extra team to be promoted. The PFL determined that a playoff game between the 2nd placed teams Druha Liha – Arsenal Bila Tserkva and FC Poltava.

#### Playoff game to determine promotion
## Stadia

| Rank | Stadium | Capacity | Club |
| 1 | CMS Vinnytsia | 25,000 | FC Nyva Vinnytsia |
| 2 | Army Stadium (SKA) | 23,040 | FC Karpaty-2 Lviv |
| 3 | Stadion Avanhard | 20,000 | FC Veres Rivne |
| 4 | Zirka Stadium | 20,000 | FC Zirka Kirovohrad |
| 5 | Bukovyna Stadium | 17,000 | FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi |
| 6 | Nyva Stadion | 14,000 | FC Nyva Vinnytsia |
| 7 | CMS Ternopil | 12,750 | FC Nyva Ternopil |
| 8 | Stadion CSK ZSU | 12,000 | CSCA Kyiv |
| 9 | Polytechnic Stadium | 11,400 | FC Kremin Kremenchuk |
| 10 | CMS Cherkasy | 10,321 | FC Dnipro Cherkasy |
| 11 | N.I. Horiushkin Memorial Stadium | 10,000 | FC Shakhtar Sverdlovsk |
| 12 | SC Podillya | 10,000 | FC Dynamo Khmelnytskyi |
| 13 | OOM Stadion Spartak | 6,800 | FC Olkom Melitopol |
| 14 | SC Sevastopol | 6,000 | PFC Sevastopol-2 |
| 15 | Spartak-ZIGMU Stadium | 6,000 | FC Metalurh-2 Zaporizhzhia |
| 16 | Stadion Khimik | 5,000 | FC Titan Armyansk |
| 17 | Trudovi Rezervy (Labor Reserves) | 5,000 | FC Ros Bila Tserkva |
| 18 | Stadion Lokomotyv | 5,000 | FC Poltava |
| 19 | Stadion Kolos | 3,000 | FC Yavir Krasnopilya |
| 20 | Metalurh Stadium | 2,900 | FC Stal Dniprodzerzhynsk |
| 21 | Arsenal-Bavaria | 2,300 | FC Arsenal Kharkiv |
| 22 | CMS Mykolaiv | 1,500 | MFK Mykolaiv |
| 23 | Olimpik Stadium | 1,000 | FC Olimpik Donetsk |
| 24 | Yunist Stadium | ? | FC Hirnyk-Sport Komsomolsk |
| 25 | Zapadnyi Stadium | ? | FC Illichivets-2 Mariupol |
Notes:
* ^17 CMS stands for Central Municipal Stadium, the name of a stadium that doesn't carry any official names, and followed by the city's name where the stadium is located. Usually such stadiums are the property of the city with a generic name "Tsentralnyi" (Central, in Ukrainian)
* ^18 SC stands for Sport Complex abbreviation
* ^19 OOM stands for Oleh Oleksenko Memorial