So exactly who are Vorskla Poltava?
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Vorskla Poltava host FAI Cup champions Sligo Rovers in the third round of Europa League qualifying, but who are Vorskla Poltava anyway?
The city of Poltava is in the north east of Ukraine, with a population of just under 300,000. Vorskla is the bigger of the city's two main football teams- the other being third-division FC Poltava. Their predecessors, Kolohospynk, were founded in 1954 but the club was renamed Vorskla Poltava in 1984. The 'Vorskla' part of their name comes from the river Vorskla which flows through the city.
Vorskla won promotion to the Ukrainian Premier League in 1995-96 and that Persha Liga (First Division) win ranks highly in their trophy cabinet. In their first season in the Premier League they finished third and won the Ukrainian Cup in the 2008-09 season. The club plays in the 25,000-capacity Butovsky Vorskla Stadium, named after one of the founders of he modern Olympic Games.
The Green-Whites have had a relatively good start to the season- winning two of their three matches so far. Last Sunday saw Vorskla beat Metalurh Donetsk 4-2, with another win (1-0) for Vorskla the week before against Obolon. The opening day of the season saw Oleksandria beat Vorskla 1-0. The Green-Whites beat Glentoran in the second qualifying round to meet Sligo Rovers- 5-0 on aggregate the score after two legs.
Ukrainian under-21 international striker Roman Bezus has been the dangerman for Vorskla this season- scoring two goals in three matches. Bezus opened the scoring in The Oval against Glentoran but didn't score in the home leg- Albanian international striker Ahmed Januzi scoring a brace of goals instead. Defender Armend Dalliku has 40 caps for he Albanian national team, while midfielder Jovan Markoski has four caps for Serbia- the last of them coming in 2006. Midfielder Serhiy Zakarlyuka was capped nine times for Ukraine between 2002 and 2004.
Manager Myhola Pavlov played in the Soviet Top League for Krylia Sovetov Samara, Dinamo Minsk, Chornomorets Odessa and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk between 1976 and 1984. He also made one appearance for the USSR national team. Pavolv had two stints managing the Ukrainian national team- in 1992 and 1994- and also managed Dynamo Kyiv to a league title in 1995-96.
The city of Poltava is in the north east of Ukraine, with a population of just under 300,000. Vorskla is the bigger of the city's two main football teams- the other being third-division FC Poltava. Their predecessors, Kolohospynk, were founded in 1954 but the club was renamed Vorskla Poltava in 1984. The 'Vorskla' part of their name comes from the river Vorskla which flows through the city.
Vorskla won promotion to the Ukrainian Premier League in 1995-96 and that Persha Liga (First Division) win ranks highly in their trophy cabinet. In their first season in the Premier League they finished third and won the Ukrainian Cup in the 2008-09 season. The club plays in the 25,000-capacity Butovsky Vorskla Stadium, named after one of the founders of he modern Olympic Games.
The Green-Whites have had a relatively good start to the season- winning two of their three matches so far. Last Sunday saw Vorskla beat Metalurh Donetsk 4-2, with another win (1-0) for Vorskla the week before against Obolon. The opening day of the season saw Oleksandria beat Vorskla 1-0. The Green-Whites beat Glentoran in the second qualifying round to meet Sligo Rovers- 5-0 on aggregate the score after two legs.
Ukrainian under-21 international striker Roman Bezus has been the dangerman for Vorskla this season- scoring two goals in three matches. Bezus opened the scoring in The Oval against Glentoran but didn't score in the home leg- Albanian international striker Ahmed Januzi scoring a brace of goals instead. Defender Armend Dalliku has 40 caps for he Albanian national team, while midfielder Jovan Markoski has four caps for Serbia- the last of them coming in 2006. Midfielder Serhiy Zakarlyuka was capped nine times for Ukraine between 2002 and 2004.
Manager Myhola Pavlov played in the Soviet Top League for Krylia Sovetov Samara, Dinamo Minsk, Chornomorets Odessa and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk between 1976 and 1984. He also made one appearance for the USSR national team. Pavolv had two stints managing the Ukrainian national team- in 1992 and 1994- and also managed Dynamo Kyiv to a league title in 1995-96.
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