| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Champions | SC Mykolaiv |
| Promoted | SC Mykolaiv, Metalist Kharkiv |
| Relegated | Zorya Luhansk, Verkhovyna Uzhhorod, Avanhard Rovenky, Khimik Severodonetsk |
| Top goalscorer | (22) – Oleh Hrytsay FC Cherkasy and Hennadiy Skidan SC Mykolaiv |
← 1996–97 1998–99 → | |
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.
Two clubs promoted from the 1996-97 Ukrainian Second League.
Two clubs were relegated from the 1996-97 Ukrainian Top League:
In 1997-98 season, the Ukrainian First League consists of the following teams:
| 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 | |
| 21 | FC Avanhard-Industria Rovenky (R) | 42 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 15 | 107 | −92 | 16 | |
| 22 | FC Khimik Severodonetsk (D) | 42 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 26 | 90 | −64 | 13 | withdrew |
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:[1]
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[2] (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 |
| Shakhtar-2 Donetsk | 0 : 4 | Podillya Khmelnytskyi |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tymoshchuk  28' Kryvyi 62' Magriani 75', 90' |
Attendance: 100
Referee: Oleksandr Tyutyun, Fastiv
| Krystal Kherson | 1 : 2 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi |
|---|---|---|
| Bohomol 85' |
Report | Lashuk 3' Semotyuk 49' |
Attendance: 500
Referee: Anatoliy Kutsev, Kyiv
| Podillya Khmelnytskyi | 1 : 1 | Bukovyna Chernivtsi |
|---|---|---|
| Magriani 66' (pen.) |
Report | Belous 63' |
Attendance: 100
Referee: Ihor Yaremchuk, Kyiv
| Shakhtar-2 Donetsk | 1 : 0 | Krystal Kherson |
|---|---|---|
| Dranov 77' |
Report |
Attendance: 100
Referee: Serhiy Shebek, Kyiv
Statistics are taken from here.[3]
| Scorer | Goals (Pen.) | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Oleh Hrytsay
|
22 (1) | FC Cherkasy |
| Hennadiy Skidan
|
22 (2) | SC Mykolaiv | |
| 3 | Vadym Plotnikov
|
21 (1) | Stal Alchevsk |
| 4 | Ruslan Zabranskyi
|
17 | SC Mykolaiv |
| Borys Finkel
|
17 (2) | Nyva Vinnytsia | |
| 6 | Rais Tierkulov
|
16 (1) | Shakhtar Makiivka |
| Oleksandr Barabash
|
16 (8) | Shakhtar Makiivka | |
| 8 | Pavlo Parshyn
|
15 | Metalurh / Polissya |
| Vadym Kharchenko
|
15 (8) | Naftovyk Okhtyrka | |
| 10 | Oleksandr Ostashov
|
14 | Stal Alchevsk |
|
Ukrainian First League seasons
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