2009–10 Ukrainian League Cup
| Country | Ukraine | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 24 | ||
| Defending champions | N/A (first edition) | ||
| Champions | Nyva Vinnytsia | ||
| Runners-up | Hirnyk-Sport Komsomolsk | ||
| Matches played | 59 | ||
| Goals scored | 167 (2.83 per match) | ||
| Top goal scorer(s) | 5 - Kachur (Nyva) Kozban (Nyva) Polishchuk (Veres) |
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The 2009–10 Ukrainian League Cup was the only season of Ukraine's football knockout competition designated for the members of the Ukrainian Second League and amateur clubs. The main purpose of this tournament was to supplement the 2009-2010 playing calendar of the Second League clubs whose number had declined remarkably triggering some talks of reforming the Ukrainian Second League. Currently amateur clubs are invited at the discretion of their respective regional football associations.
The tournament was organized after a few mini-tournaments of the PFL Cup had taken place in the span of less than a couple of years. The PFL Cup competitions involved united teams of different leagues such as two from the second and one from the first and the students, players of which had earned a few gold medals in several international competitions (see Universiada). At first the League Cup was supposed to be an extension of those PFL tournaments, but later was reorganized as a supplementary competition to the Second League championship of 2009-2010. A chronic problem follows the Second League especially in recent years as several clubs of the league have a difficult time just to finish their season, not even worrying about winning anything. That, of course, reflects negatively on the performance not only of a club, but the whole league. A new working commission was organized in 2010 to offer an alternative for the Second League clubs structure of competitions which was supposed to be presented for the 2010-2011 season. Please, note that the League Cup is not such an authentic tournament as a similar competition involving exclusively the Second League clubs had taken place in 1999-2001 known as the Cup of the Second League.
The Cup began with a group tournament where teams from Druha Liha and amateur level competitors participated. At this stage all 24 teams were divided into eight groups. The best two teams out of each group advanced to the next round of the competition (Second Round) while all the last placed participants were eliminated. In the Second Round teams were paired with each other with the winners of each group playing at home. The winner of each pair advanced to the next round (Quarter-finals). The Quarter-finals took place in the same manner. The Semi-finals consisted of two home-away matches, while the Final took place at a neutral field.
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