Northampton
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28,
Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Vitaliy Zhuravlev started the match with the kick off. Northampton's Yakov Lyabakh was standing unmarked in front of the goal when he, in the 3rd play minute, got the ball and easily drilled it into the goal. In the 8th match minute, Almaty Stars was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Lev Vorobiev to maneuver through the defense. When Yakov Lyabakh came up free with the goalie in the 10th minute, the Northampton fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Yakov Lyabakh couldn't finish the play. In the 13th minute Vitaliy Zhuravlev shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Oleg Izyumov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. David Semagin stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Vladislav Gurin's shot from short distance in the 17th minute. Konstantin Makarenkov's late challenge caught a Northampton's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Konstantin Makarenkov helped the player get up and apologised. After 22 played minutes Almaty Stars got a freekick which was hit by Konstantin Makarenkov. After a defensive mix-up in Almaty Stars's zone, Vladislav Gurin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. David Semagin came out of the goal and Vladislav Gurin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. When Northampton's Adam Babkin in the 24th minute got a chance for a shot 24th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Almaty Stars's goalie prevented a goal. David Semagin stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Adam Babkin's shot from short distance in the 24th minute. 26 minutes into the match, Northampton's goal looked a bit too open when Vitaliy Zhuravlev came free, but Oleg Izyumov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Oleg Izyumov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Denis Silin in the 27th minute of the match. Vladislav Gurin could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 29th minute of the match, but David Semagin made a huge save. When Yakov Lyabakh came up free with the goalie in the 31st minute, the Northampton fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Yakov Lyabakh couldn't finish the play. Adam Babkin struck a weak shot in the 33rd minute. David Semagin didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Northampton. Oleg Izyumov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lev Vorobiev, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. After 38 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Northampton! Vladislav Gurin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 48th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.
When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Adam Babkin made a kick off. Northampton's Lev Vinogradov got a good chance for a goal in the 54th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Lev Vinogradov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 55th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. David Semagin showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vladislav Gurin in the 57th minute of the match. In the 58th minute, Adam Babkin ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. David Semagin was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-1. Oleg Izyumov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Vitaliy Zhuravlev, who was totally free with the ball in the 62nd minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Vladislav Gurin in the 64th minute of play forced Almaty Stars's goalkeeper David Semagin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 67th minute Denis Silin shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Oleg Izyumov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 69thth minute of the game Yakov Lyabakh who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Almaty Stars's David Semagin was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 71 minutes into the match, Northampton's Lev Vinogradov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that David Semagin narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Yakov Lyabakh's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but David Semagin read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 73rd minute of play. In the 75th minute, Lev Vorobiev reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Oleg Izyumov. The goal made the score 2-2. 82 minutes into the match, Almaty Stars's goal looked a bit too open when Adam Babkin came free, but David Semagin reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Oleg Izyumov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vitaliy Zhuravlev, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Adam Babkin's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but David Semagin was relentless in the 85th minute of the game. In the 85th minute, Arkadiy Solodov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 88th minute, Vladislav Gurin left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Northampton fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-2. After 92 played minutes Northampton got a freekick which was hit by Lev Vinogradov. In the 93rd minute, one of Northampton:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Northampton. Innokentiy Terentiev shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. After some careless play in the Almaty Stars defense, Yakov Lyabakh kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of David Semagin. The Almaty Stars fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that David Semagin should have stopped the shot. When the referee ended the match the Northampton players were able to celebrate. They had won a fair victory and recieved the ovations of their fans.
Change language
