League Play-Off

Redditch Park
Spectators: 39 (Terracing: 30, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Yuriy Kirillov started the match with the kick off. After 2 played minutes Newmarket AFC got a freekick which was hit by Valentin Nemolyaev. Boris Yushkins short, quick shot in the 5thth minute got Artur Esipov to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Aleksey Grechanov's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Anton Nikolaev read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 7th minute of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Aleksey Grechanov in the 8th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Anton Nikolaev prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After 10 played minutes Redditch AFC got a freekick which was hit by Dmitriy Danilov. If Yuriy Kirillov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 12th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Viktor Stebenkov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 18th minute. Artur Esipov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Yuriy Kirillov in the 21st minute of play forced Redditch AFC's goalkeeper Anton Nikolaev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Aleksey Grechanov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 27th minute. Anton Nikolaev tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Valentin Nemolyaev's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Anton Nikolaev read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 30th minute of play. Anton Nikolaev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Aleksey Grechanov, who was totally free with the ball in the 32nd minute. After some careless play in the Newmarket AFC defense, Boris Yushkin kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Artur Esipov. The Newmarket AFC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Artur Esipov should have stopped the shot. Yuriy Kirillov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 40th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After having played for 42 minutes, Viktor Stebenkov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Redditch AFC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Viktor Stebenkov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Viktor Stebenkov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

In the 56th minute, Viktor Stebenkov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Aleksey Grechanov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 58th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 60 minutes into the match, Redditch AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Yuriy Kirillov came free, but Anton Nikolaev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Boris Yushkin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 66th minute. Artur Esipov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Artur Esipov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Boris Yushkin in the 68th minute of the match. 72 minutes into the game, Dmitriy Danilov was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Redditch AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Newmarket AFC the free kick. Dmitriy Danilov hit a great freekick 72 minutes into the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Aleksey Grechanov got free with Anton Nikolaev in the 81st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Redditch AFC's Anton Nikolaev proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 93rd minute of the match, managed to save Redditch AFC from getting a goal against them. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Redditch AFC had won after a very even match.