U21 League

Kursk Arena
Spectators: 174 (Terracing: 131, Seating: 40, VIP seats: 3) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Salomone Weber took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 4th minute, Rustam Polezhaev hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 8 minutes into the game, Espen Steelers's Salomone Weber nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Vladimir Tarasov made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. Andrew Lepage sent away a hard shot on goal in the 13th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Vladimir Tarasov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Kurt Wüthrich's shot from short distance in the 13th minute. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Rustam Polezhaev during the 24th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Andrew Lepage received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 27th minute. Vladimir Tarasov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Rustam Polezhaev had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 34th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. In the 35th minute, Klim Merkushev hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 39 played minutes Курск ФК got a freekick which was hit by Klim Merkushev. Vladimir Tarasov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Henri Schwersenz, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Vladimir Tarasov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Salomone Weber in the 43rd minute of the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Rustam Polezhaev got free with Jörg Stiel in the 45th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Nikita Bessonov stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After 54 played minutes Espen Steelers got a freekick which was hit by Andrew Lepage. Klim Merkushev's late challenge caught a Espen Steelers's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Klim Merkushev helped the player get up and apologised. Kurt Wüthrich received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 62nd minute. Vladimir Tarasov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 64th minute, Nikolay Alimov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 66 minutes into the match, Rustam Polezhaev notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of Espen Steelers's Jörg Stiel. Jörg Stiel was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Espen Steelers made a substitution. Dominik Sauerberg replaced Fabian Schär. Espen Steelers's Jörg Stiel played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rustam Polezhaev in the 74th minute of play. The audience was convinced that Salomone Weber's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Vladimir Tarasov was relentless in the 76th minute of the game. Klim Merkushev hit a great freekick 77 minutes into the match. Kurt Wüthrich in the 78thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Vladimir Tarasov, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. Vladimir Tarasov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Kurt Wüthrich, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Espen Steelers's Jörg Stiel played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rustam Polezhaev in the 85th minute of play. Espen Steelers's Jörg Stiel played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Nikita Bessonov in the 87th minute of play. 95 minutes into the match, Курск ФК's goalkeeper Vladimir Tarasov had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Dominik Sauerberg. The Espen Steelers supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Espen Steelers would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.