Romanchuk’s injury is the most serious, as his leg was broken in two places by a terrible studs up tackle from a Stal defender. The offender was sent off, which will be of little consolation to Romanchuk as he faces a lengthy recovery. Ninkovic is another player who will not suit up for Dynamo in the near future. The Serb midfielder broke his right ankle after an awkward landing, and will be out into next year. “It’s so silly,” lamented Ninkovic, “there wasn’t even any contact. It is disappointing, especially with all the important matches on the horizon.”

Mykhalyk is the player Dynamo will miss the most in those tough contests. The defender was caught on the follow through by a Lviv player as he attempted a shot, and collapsed in obvious pain. Mykhalyk was fortunate to get away without any broken bones, but suffered a deep gash to his ankle and needed many stitches to close the wound. “When the bandages are changed I can see that it is still bleeding,” said Mykhalyk. “The important thing is to tolerate the pain and avoid more shots (that would slow the recovery). I am told it will be at least two weeks until the stitches are removed. Until then there is no point in speculating when I will be able to return.”

With Mykhalyk out against Shakhtar and likely to miss the Champions League match at Arsenal, Semin will need to decide on a replacement center half to play alongside Pape Diakhate. Asatiani is the favorite but his ankle is still an issue, and he will be pressed by veteran Goran Sablic. Ghioane is also uncertain to be ready in time for the weekend. One possible replacement is fellow Romanian Florin Cernat, who has performed well in limited opportunities this year. Semin will also hope to have Carlos Correa and Oleh Husyev ready to go. The pair has been gaining fitness with the “Deuce” and played in the cup match against Stal.

As for the actual results, Dynamo needed all the skill of Stanyslav Bohush and a wonder strike from Badr El Kaddouri to pull out a 1-0 victory against Lviv. The promoted side had fared well against the top teams in the league, with a 2-0 win against Shakhtar and a scoreless draw away at Metalist Kharkiv to their credit. The hosts should have gone ahead on 13 minutes, but Oleksandr Aliyev, already having drilled a set piece into the woodwork, had his spot kick saved and could not get a hold of the rebound. The trio of Aliyev, Ismael Bangoura, and Artem Milevskiy now all have a missed penalty to their credit. Dynamo had to wait until a quarter hour from full time to go ahead through El Kaddouri. Cernat sent his free kick attempt into the wall, but the Moroccan was there to lash an unstoppable shot into the top corner. But the man of the match was undoubtedly Bohush, as he denied Lviv chance after chance to take another massive UPL scalp.

Dynamo eased by Stal with a 4-1 margin to reach the Ukrainian Cup Semifinals. Cernat and Andriy Yarmolenko each secured a brace for a reserve side managed by assistant Oleg Luzhny. Cernat worked a clever set piece routine with Correa on the edge of the area before opening the scoring with a low strike into the near corner. The Romanian then ran onto a loose ball 25 meters from the target and again demonstrated a combination of power and accuracy to beat the Stal keeper. Cernat then sent Yarmolenko in on goal and the young striker made no mistake from close range. The hosts avoided a shutout when veteran keeper Taras Lutsenko did his best Paul Robinson impression, whiffing on a Sablic back pass and hanging an own goal on his Croatian defender. In stoppage time Yarmolenko got on the end of a Roman Zozulya cross to head home from close range for the final margin.

DYNAMO 1 – 0 FC LVIV

Dynamo: 31.Bogush, 3.Betão, 5.Vukojević, 8.Aliyev, 10.Bangoura, 15.Diakhaté, 16.Shatskikh (19.Cernat, 46), 17.Mykhalyk – cap (26.Nesmachnyy, 62), 23.Romanchuk (49.Zozulya, 56), 25.Milevskyy, 30.El Kaddouri.

FC Lviv: 30.Shevchuk, 3.Halchuk, 25.Zhdanov, 27.Vashchuk – cap, 22.Kitsuta, 7.Fedorchuk, 21.Shevelyukhin, 9.Khudzik, 28.Kotenko (14.B.Baranets, 76), 8.G.Baranets, 20.Poltavets (24.Panas, 83).

Goal: El Kaddouri (75).

Missed penalty: Aliyev (13).

Booked: Milevskyy (70), Aliyev (77) – Vashchuk (55), Shevelyukhin (59), Zhdanov (79).

STAL АLCHEVSK 1 – 4 DYNAMO

Stal А: 1.Babak, 4.Pasychnychenko (24.Shevchenko, 82), 2.D.Nazarenko, 23.Lotz, 3.Nazaruk, 5.Havrysh, 17.Valeyev, 8.Podnebennyy (14.Kiriak, 73), 18.Akymenko (32.Smalko, 60), 19.Mukhovykov, 9. Myshchenko.

Dynamo: 21.Lutsenko, 2.Dopilka, 6.Sablić, 7.Corrêa (20.Husyev, 52), 9.Morozyuk (18.Temile, 88), 11.Eremenko, 19.Cernat, 23.Romanchuk (34.Khacheridi, 62), 24.Sakhnevych, 49.Zozulya, 70.Yarmolenko.

Goals: Sablić (54, own goal) – Cernat (14, 28), Yarmolenko (37, 90+2).

Yellow card: Temile (90+1).

Red card: D.Nazarenko (59)

As for the rest of the quarterfinal draw, Metalurh D will host Vorskla, while Metalist will travel to Tavriya. The matches are tentatively scheduled for November 11th and 12th, with replays on December 6th and 7th if necessary.

Ahead of Saturday’s UPL match between Dynamo and Karpaty, the reserve sides of the two clubs faced off at Dynamo’s training facility. I bring this up because the starting eleven for the “Deuce” featured Oleh Husyev at forward and Carlos Correa in his familiar midfield role. Held out of Wednesday’s cup match against Zorya, the duo were in action for the first time since their respective injuries before being substituted at halftime. Both players put in an encouraging performance, and most importantly made it off the pitch in one piece.

Artem Milevskiy made his return from an injured ankle during the last encounter between the clubs, and manager Yuri Semin may use this opportunity to give a run out to players looking to regain their match fitness. A flu bug that has kept several team members out of practice this week makes sidelined midfielders Oleh Husyev and Carlos Correa prime candidates to see their first action of the season. Both players were major contributors prior to their injuries, and having them back in the fold would be a boost for Dynamo as they approach a crowded segment of their calendar. Dynamo will host Karpaty Lviv in UPL play on Saturday, before welcoming Porto to Kiev on November 5 in a rematch of their Champions League clash.

Highlights of Dynamo’s 5-0 triumph over Zorya:

On Sunday Dynamo secured a comfortable 3-0 road victory against Chornomorets. While the hosts are usually a tough customer in Odessa, and were sixth in the UPL standings coming into the match, they were never in this one. Dynamo was on the offensive from the start, and on nine minutes Roman Eremenko turned in a cross from Tiberiu Ghioane to open the scoring. Before the half hour the Romanian got on the score sheet himself, roofing a low Miloš Ninković cross to finish an excellent Dynamo move. Halftime substitute Artem Kravets scored the third barely a minute after coming on, getting to his own rebound and finishing emphatically. It was all Dynamo the rest of the way, with Chornomorets hard pressed to recall a single scoring opportunity.

Dynamo remain second in the Ukrainian Premier League standings, with 19 points from 8 matches. They continue to trail Metalurh Donetsk by two points after the league leaders earned a 2-0 home win against Lviv. While Metalurh continues to surge, the “other” team from Donetsk has not found its domestic form. Title holders Shakhtar were held to a nil draw by Arsenal in Kiev, and have only managed 8 points so far. While no one expects the Miners to remain in the lower half of the table for long, spotting three wins and change to your rivals this early is something they may regret all season. For more on UPL Round 8, check out the Ukrainian Premier League Blog.

Dynamo was again without striker Artem Milevskiy, but hope to have him available for next week’s Champions League clash with Fenerbahçe in Turkey. One player who will not be making the trip is Ayila Yussuf. The Nigerian midfielder picked up a thigh strain in the closing minutes of the Arsenal match and will be sidelined up to a month.

Wednesday’s draw for the Ukrainian Cup Round of 16 has pitted Dynamo against FC Zorya Luhansk. Dynamo will take on their fellow UPL side, currently sitting fifth in the table, on October 29 in Kiev.