Intense derby matches between league leaders, along with controversial refereeing in Lutsk and Khmelnytskyi: highlights from the 12th round of the Extra League.

Luchanians, trailing Urahan 0:1 at halftime, once again showcased their resilience and secured a 3:2 victory following a determined win against Kardinal-Rivne, marking their second consecutive triumph (they lost 1:4 in the first round). The Dnipro "athletes" fell short by just one goal in their quest for revenge in the SkyUp Futsal, losing with the same score with which they were defeated in Kyiv – 5:3 versus 3:6.

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Both teams proved to their opponents for the second time this season that they are stronger, though they had to exert varying efforts to achieve this. Sokil made a statement within the first eight minutes, scoring four unanswered goals, and added another in the second half, resulting in a 5:0 scoreline. Meanwhile, Sukhiy Balka had to endure a tense match against MCK Kharkiv. The task of winning became complicated for Serhiy Hupalek's team after conceding a goal just three seconds before the break, and who knows how it would have ended if the Kharkiv team hadn't gifted themselves a goal followed by a seventh foul, from which the team from Zhovti Vody scored the winning goal.

The matches in two other pairs in the first round did not determine the stronger team, but in the second round, only Enerhiya and Kardinal-Rivne managed to do so by scoring three goals in the first half. Two of those goals came from the Rivne team, which won 2:1, remaining in the group of teams aiming for a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the 4:4 draw in the Kyiv derby between Aurora Team and HIT, which will be discussed later, maintained the status quo between the capital teams with a two-point difference.

Overall, the twelfth round was rich in various highlights, and it was important to ensure that nothing went unnoticed by the fans. In total, there were 17 notable moments, all of which are worth reading about from cover to cover.

Game of the Round

With respect to all the teams in the Extra League, there was no alternative to the "game of the round" than the clash between the two leaders of the tournament table in the twelfth round. Aurora Team and HIT kept the fans engaged, and by the 3rd minute, the score was already open. Rostyslav Semenchenko's goal marked the first goal conceded by HIT in 2025, breaking Oleksandr Sukhov's clean sheet streak at 93 minutes and 31 seconds. HIT's goalkeeper Oleksandr Sukhov couldn't save it, and this was just the beginning. In the first half, Semenchenko's goal remained the only one as both teams struggled more than they created, waiting for their opponents' mistakes.

After the break, everyone watching the game anticipated a feast of goals resulting from various errors. Without these mistakes, there wouldn't be any goals, so fans enjoyed their share of excitement. In just nine minutes, referees recorded seven goals, and when the score reached 4:4 after 33 minutes of play, both teams were so exhausted that there was a lingering feeling that both Aurora Team and HIT were willing to settle for a draw.

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Aurora Team was worn out after taking a two-goal lead three times in the match, but this advantage was quickly reduced each time. HIT found it more challenging as they struggled to close the gap from 0:2 and 1:3 to 1:2 and 2:3, only to concede again, forcing them to start chasing once more. This state led to the home team lacking the strength to score a fifth goal, while HIT lacked the confidence that if the score became 4:5, they could come back.

Ultimately, this was the second draw of the season between Aurora Team and HIT, but soon both teams, under the guidance of Yevhen Zadorozhny and Oleg Lukyanenko, will face each other in two battles in the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Cup, where there will definitely be a winner, even if both matches in this cup stage end in draws.

Blowout of the Round

Sokil achieved a second "shutout" victory over Lviv's in.IT this season, and while they scored three goals in the first round, they secured a 5:0 victory on their home court, a score that has become a classic thanks to a well-known song. A five-goal margin in futsal is considered a blowout, and such results have thankfully become rare this season in the Extra League, although some of them have been quite resonant. This is especially notable when recalling the heavy defeats suffered by MCK Kharkiv.

Sokil's victory became their ninth blowout win out of 72 games, accounting for 12.5%. Khmelnytskyi's team inflicted their opponent's second blowout this season, while the "IT specialists" experienced their second heavy defeat. The leader in terms of blowout losses remains MCK Kharkiv, which has lost by a margin of five or more goals five times. Besides Sokil, both Aurora Team and HIT have blown out their opponents twice.

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Comeback of the Round

The Dnipro Athletic Futsal made an incredible and commendable comeback in the second half of their home game against SkyUp Futsal. Having started the game well, the "athletes" conceded first and went into halftime trailing 1:3 due to multiple mistakes. However, they managed to turn the game around in less than six minutes in the second half. Subsequently, under the guidance of Oleksandr Kabanenko, they confidently maintained control of the game and sealed their victory at the last second when Davyd Kalashnyk scored his second goal into an empty net.

Interestingly, in the first round against the same opponents, Athletic Futsal led 1:0 at halftime, but in the second half, the "aviators" scored six goals and won 6:3. Who would have thought what kind of "response" they would receive in the second round.

Quarantine of the Round

For their home game against Kardinal-Rivne, Lviv's Enerhiya took to the court without three players, explaining that they had contracted an unknown virus. As a result, the "energy players" suffered a 1:2 defeat, and after the game, the club released a statement on their Facebook page indicating that "the health of several players worsened just before the match." Consequently, Enerhiya made an unprecedented decision to implement "quarantine within the team until next Thursday."

According to the schedule, Valeriy Lechyanov's team was set to play in the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Cup against in.IT on January 24, but the same statement noted that the match would be postponed to a later date.

Brazil-Paraguay Debuts of the Round

Kyiv's SkyUp Futsal bolstered their squad with four legionnaires during the January transfer window, and three of them were seen in Dnipro, where the "aviators" faced local Athletic Futsal. Brazilian Joao Lucas started in the first quartet, later joined by his compatriot Bob and Paraguayan Joni, who has already been called up to his national team. In total, four SkyUp Futsal legionnaires participated in this game. Brazilian Rafinha did not make the matchday squad in Dnipro, nor did the sixth legionnaire, Brazilian Sharopinho.

Goal of the Round

Among the 32 goals scored in the twelfth round, we will give the nod to the small masterpiece created by Athletic Futsal player Kiril Storozhuk. At the very beginning of the second half, the Dnipro team launched a positional attack that seemed to have lost momentum, as Artem Shchur attempted a shot on goal under pressure from Joao Lucas, but the pass ultimately reached Kiril Storozhuk, who found himself unmarked in front of Illya Bakinsky's goal. Despite receiving the ball with his back to the goal, Storozhuk managed to shoot such that the ball flew over the "aviators" goalkeeper, who had rushed out of his net, and landed just behind the goal line.

Kiril Storozhuk's brilliant and original decision later inspired his teammates to take active actions that led to the comeback and victory in this crucial game.

Penalty of the Round

A very interesting penalty was awarded in Lutsk, where Liubart faced Urahan. There were certainly no analogs this season. After a long pass from Dmytro Romaniuk towards Mykhailo Zaporozhets, who was positioned in the guest's penalty area, Urahan's goalkeeper Oleksandr Siritsky collided so forcefully with his teammate that both fell over Zaporozhets, preventing him from receiving the ball.

Referee Oleksandr Yelshansky was nearby, deemed this moment a