Official Cup

Kursk Arena
Spectators: 195 (Terracing: 147, Seating: 45, VIP seats: 3) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Shi Li kicked off to start the match. Frutos Mallo made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ianis Man in the 5th minute of play. 5 minutes into the match, Курск ФК's goal looked a bit too open when Ianis Man came free, but Frutos Mallo reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Octavian Soare didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Andrey Denisov went, in the 8th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-0 was the resulting score. Frutos Mallo made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Shi Li in the 12th minute of play. In the 17th match minute, Galati Harbour Cats was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Antoni Dembkowski to maneuver through the defense. A collision led to Курск ФК getting a freekick after 19 minutes play. Filimon Tarasov hit a great ball. Курск ФК's Frutos Mallo played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ianis Man in the 22nd minute of play. Shi Li might have been able to make a better finish in the 23rd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Frutos Mallo. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Shi Li ran back to his position shaking his head. 23 minutes into the match, Курск ФК's goal looked a bit too open when Shi Li came free, but Frutos Mallo reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 24 minutes into the game, Andrey Denisov cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-0. Octavian Soare was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Octavian Soare came out of the goal in the 28th minute to try and stop a shot by Курск ФК's Andrey Denisov. But to his dismay, Andrey Denisov quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 3-0. Andrey Denisov could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 31st minute of the match, but Octavian Soare made a huge save. In the 37th minute Shi Li shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Frutos Mallo saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When Курск ФК's Andrey Denisov in the 39th minute got a chance for a shot 39th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Galati Harbour Cats's goalie prevented a goal. In the 40thth minute of the game Ianis Man who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Курск ФК's Frutos Mallo was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 43 minutes into the match, Shi Li had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Frutos Mallo. Курск ФК's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Shi Li was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-2. In a very dangerous position, a player in Galati Harbour Cats fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 47th minute. Penalty! Andrey Denisov walked up to take care of the penalty kick. He was aiming for the top corner, but the ball went just outside the post.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Andrey Denisov to make the kick off. In the 52nd minute Andrey Denisov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Octavian Soare saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in Курск ФК's zone, Shi Li stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Frutos Mallo came out of the goal and Shi Li tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 56 minutes into the match, Galati Harbour Cats's Shi Li sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Frutos Mallo narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Octavian Soare took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Andrey Denisov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Galati Harbour Cats's Ianis Man in the 59th minute got a chance for a shot 59th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Курск ФК's goalie prevented a goal. 63 minutes into the match, Курск ФК's Andrey Denisov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Octavian Soare narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Курск ФК's Andrey Denisov got a good chance for a goal in the 67th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Курск ФК's attentive Filimon Tarasov managed to snatch the ball when Dan Petrescu made a throw-in in the 70th minute of the game. Frutos Mallo stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Shi Li's shot from short distance in the 71st minute. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Shi Li in the 73rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Frutos Mallo prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Курск ФК's Filimon Tarasov managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Dan Petrescu in the 77 minute of the game. Shi Li blasted a shot towards the goal in the 78th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Frutos Mallo having to make a save. Galati Harbour Cats's Octavian Soare played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Andrey Denisov in the 79th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Курск ФК's zone, Shi Li stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Frutos Mallo came out of the goal and Shi Li tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Octavian Soare made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Andrey Denisov in the 83rd minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Shi Li got free with Frutos Mallo in the 86th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Курск ФК's Filipp Ilyin was substituted for Vasiliy Kulakov. Курск ФК's Boris Basalaev was substituted for Andrey Denisov. In the 95th minute, Boris Basalaev ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Octavian Soare was frozen by the shot and now it was 5-2. Курск ФК's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.