# 1973 Cup of the Ukrainian SSR

The Ukrainian Cup 1973 was a football knockout competition conducting by the Football Federation of Ukrainian SSR and was known as the Ukrainian Cup.
The Cup started with the preliminary round on November 1, 1973, and involved the republican level non-amateur clubs. The main event started from the round of 16 on November 6, 1973, when the inter-republican clubs joined the competition such as Chornomorets, Metalist, and others, while some of them represented by their second squad. Dynamo Kyiv has chosen not to participate in it since its last winning season in 1948. Also the last season champions FC Avtomobilist Zhytomyr entered the competition at the Round of 16, however they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Unlike the previous edition the tournament introduced a penalty shootout which replaced the method of a game replay. The competition concluded in two and half weeks in Kiev on November 18. Note that the tournament took place after the Soviet football season was over and was conducted in rather unsupported weather conditions as the cold period in Ukraine starts usually in September or October, depending on location.

## Teams
### Tournament distribution

The competition was conducted among all 23 Ukrainian clubs of the 1973 Soviet Second League, Zone 1 and all 4 Ukrainian clubs of the 1973 Soviet First League.
| First round (22 teams) | First round (22 teams) | 22 entrants from the Second League (Zone 1) | |
| Second round (16 teams) | Second round (16 teams) | 4 entrants from the First League 1 entrants from the Second League (Zone 1) (Avtomobilist Zhytomyr) | 11 winners from the First round |

### Other professional teams

The five Ukrainian professional teams in the Soviet Top League did not take part in the competition.
* 1973 Soviet Top League (5): FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, FC Dynamo Kyiv, FC Karpaty Lviv, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad

## Competition schedule
### Preliminary round

November 1, 1973
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Hoverla Uzhhorod | 0–0 (5–3 p) | Kolos Poltava |
| Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih | 2–0 | Avanhard Sevastopol |
| Budivelnyk Ternopil | 1–2 | Lokomotyv Vinnytsia |
| Dynamo Khmelnytskyi | 7–2 | SC Chernihiv |
| SC Lutsk | 3–0 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi |
| Avanhard Rivne | 1–0 | Frunzenets Sumy |
| Tavriya Simferopol | w/o | Shakhtar Kadiivka |
| Lokomotyv Kherson | 2–1 | Sudnobudivelnyk Mykolaiv |
| Metalurh Zhdanov | 0–2 | Shakhtar Horlivka |
| Zirka Kirovohrad | 3–1 | Khimik Severodonetsk |
| Shakhtar Makiivka | 2–1 | Lokomotyv Donetsk |

### First elimination round

November 6, 1973
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Hoverla Uzhhorod | 0–0 (2–3 p) | Chornomorets Odessa |
| SC Lutsk | 1–2 | Metalist Kharkiv |
| Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | 4–0 | Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih |
| Dynamo Khmelnytskyi | 0–1 | Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk |
| Shakhtar Kadiivka | 1–3 | Avanhard Rivne |
| Shakhtar Horlivka | 2–2 (4–5 p) | Lokomotyv Kherson |
| Zirka Kirovohrad | 2–0 | Metalurh Zaporizhia |
| Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | w/o | Shakhtar Makiivka |

### Quarterfinals

November 10, 1973
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Avtomobilist Zhytomyr | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Zirka Kirovohrad |
| Chornomorets Odessa | 1–4 | Lokomotyv Vinnytsia |
| Metalist Kharkiv | 1–0 | Lokomotyv Kherson |
| Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk | 1–0 | Avanhard Rivne |

### Semifinals

November 14, 1973
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Lokomotyv Vinnytsia | 0–1 | Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk |
| Zirka Kirovohrad | 4–0 | Metalist Kharkiv |

### Final

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Zirka Kirovohrad | 1–0 | Spartak Ivano-Frankivsk |
The final was held on November 18, 1973, in Kiev. Remarkable is the fact that the final involved participation of such players as Taras Shuliatytsky, Oleksandr Ischenko, and others well known players of that time.

## Top goalscorers

| Scorer | Goals | Team |
* Ukrainian Cup 1973 Winners
* FC Zirka Kirovohrad Second title