1997–98 Ukrainian First League
# 1997–98 Ukrainian First League

1997–98 Ukrainian First League was the seventh season of the Ukrainian First League which was won by SC Mykolaiv. The season started on July 30, 1997, and finished on July 9, 1998.

## Promotion and relegation

### Promoted teams

Two clubs promoted from the 1996-97 Ukrainian Second League.

**Group A**

* FC Desna Chernihiv – champion (returning after three seasons)

**Group B**

* FC Avanhard-Industriya Rovenky – champion (debut)

### Relegated teams

Two clubs were relegated from the 1996-97 Ukrainian Top League:

* FC Kremin Kremenchuk – 15th place (debut)
* FC Nyva Vinnytsia – 16th place (returning after four seasons)

### Renamed teams

* FC Khimik Zhytomyr changed its name back to FC Polissya Zhytomyr.

### Teams

In 1997-98 season, the Ukrainian First League consists of the following teams:

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | SC Mykolaiv (C, P) | 42 | 31 | 5 | 6 | 94 | 31 | +63 | 98 | Promoted to Vyshcha Liha |
| 2 | FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv | 42 | 28 | 9 | 5 | 90 | 31 | +59 | 93 | |
| 3 | FC Metalist Kharkiv (P) | 42 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 74 | 29 | +45 | 89 | Promoted to Vyshcha Liha |
| 4 | FC Stal Alchevsk | 42 | 24 | 5 | 13 | 95 | 53 | +42 | 77 | |
| 5 | FC Nyva Vinnytsia | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 58 | 34 | +24 | 73 | |
| 6 | FC Polissya Zhytomyr | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 68 | |
| 7 | FC Cherkasy | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 68 | |
| 8 | FC Naftovyk Okhtyrka | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 67 | |
| 9 | FC Volyn Lutsk | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 56 | 45 | +11 | 65 | |
| 10 | FC Yavir Krasnopillia | 42 | 19 | 5 | 18 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 62 | |
| 11 | FC Metalurh Nikopol | 42 | 19 | 4 | 19 | 44 | 61 | −17 | 61 | |
| 12 | CSCA-2 Kyiv | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 59 | |
| 13 | FC Shakhtar Makiivka | 42 | 17 | 5 | 20 | 65 | 77 | −12 | 56 | |
| 14 | FC Kremin Kremenchuk | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 55 | |
| 15 | FC Lviv | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 54 | |
| 16 | FC Polihraftekhnika Oleksandria | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 54 | |
| 17 | FC Desna Chernihiv | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 54 | |
| 18 | FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi (O) | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 53 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
| 19 | FC Zorya Luhansk (R) | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 43 | 84 | −41 | 39 | Relegated to Second League |
| 20 | FC Verkhovyna Uzhhorod (R) | 42 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 42 | 79 | −37 | 32 | Relegated to Second League |
| 21 | FC Avanhard-Industria Rovenky (R) | 42 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 15 | 107 | −92 | 16 | Relegated to Second League |
| 22 | FC Khimik Severodonetsk (D) | 42 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 26 | 90 | −64 | 13 | withdrew |

## Promotion/relegation play-off

To the play-off qualified four teams, the 18th placed team of 1997-98 Ukrainian First League and three group winners of 1997-98 Ukrainian Second League:

* FC Bukovyna Chernivtsi
* FC Podillya Khmelnytskyi (Group A)
* FC Krystal Kherson (Group B)
* FC Shakhtar-2 Donetsk (Group C)

Top three teams qualified for the First League, the fourth and last team qualified for the Second Team. Format was a single round robin in Kyiv and Boryspil, Kyiv Oblast. When tied on points, the main tie-breaker was head-to-head games. The tournament was conducted at almost empty stadiums. The tournament was discontinued right after the second round when it became apparent that Krystal was not able to secure the third and the safe place to receive promotion. The Georgian footballer George Magriani (Podillya) became the top scorer of the tournament with three goals.

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Podillya Khmelnytskyi (C) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 4 | Promoted to First League |
| 2 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | Retained |
| 3 | Shakhtar-2 Donetsk | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 3 | Promoted to First League |
| 4 | Krystal Kherson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | No promotion |

## Top scorers

Statistics are taken from here.

| | Scorer | Goals (Pen.) | Team |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Oleh Hrytsay | 22 (1) | FC Cherkasy |
| 1 | Hennadiy Skidan | 22 (2) | SC Mykolaiv |
| 3 | Vadym Plotnikov | 21 (1) | Stal Alchevsk |
| 4 | Ruslan Zabranskyi | 17 | SC Mykolaiv |
| 4 | Borys Finkel | 17 (2) | Nyva Vinnytsia |
| 6 | Rais Tierkulov | 16 (1) | Shakhtar Makiivka |
| 6 | Oleksandr Barabash | 16 (8) | Shakhtar Makiivka |
| 8 | Pavlo Parshyn | 15 | Metalurh / Polissya |
| 8 | Vadym Kharchenko | 15 (8) | Naftovyk Okhtyrka |
| 10 | Oleksandr Ostashov | 14 | Stal Alchevsk |
