In October 1949, the team was renamed to 'Metalurg'. In 1950 Metalurg debuts in the USSR Cup and in the round of 64 they defeated Lokomotiv Petrozavodsk with the score of 5–0, but go out in the next stage, losing 2–3 to Torpedo Stalingrad. However, the very next year club went to eighth-finals, notably defeating Dinamo Minsk 1–0 and Lokomotiv Moscow 4–0 on the way. In 1953, the club debuted in the USSR Championship after becoming the champion of Ukrainian SSR in 1952. From 1953 to 1962, Metalurg played in USSR Championship division 'B'.
