League Play-Off

Izhevsk
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Vadim Gorbachev took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 8th match minute, Cheboksary was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Evgeniy Kaehtin to maneuver through the defense. 9 minutes into the match, Izhevsk FC's Andrey Ionov broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. In a very dangerous position, a player in Cheboksary fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 10th minute. Penalty! Mark Nedorezkov charged in rather forcefully in the 16th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Mark Nedorezkov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Izhevsk FC getting a freekick after 16 minutes play. Mark Nedorezkov hit a great ball. Aleksey Maslyannikov struck a weak shot in the 20th minute. Timur Novomlintsev didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Izhevsk FC. Sergey Kalnitskiy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 23rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Timur Novomlintsev having to interfere. A collision led to Cheboksary getting a freekick after 30 minutes play. Vladimir Panfilov hit a great ball. Sergey Kalnitskiy received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 31st minute. Timur Novomlintsev tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 37 minutes into the game, Cheboksary's Valentin Epishkin nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Arkadiy Kovezin made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-1. If Aleksey Maslyannikov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 45th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Timur Novomlintsev made a fantastic save in the 48th minute, when Aleksey Maslyannikov sent off a good shot on target. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

In the 62nd minute, Sergey Kalnitskiy left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Izhevsk FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-1. Aleksey Maslyannikov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 65th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Timur Novomlintsev having to interfere. Arkadiy Kovezin showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vadim Gorbachev in the 69th minute of the match. When Vladimir Panfilov fell near the penalty area in the 71st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Cheboksary's protests and gave Vladimir Panfilov a yellow card for diving instead. In the 71st match minute, Cheboksary was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Vladimir Panfilov to maneuver through the defense. 76 minutes into the game, one of Izhevsk FC:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. The referee gave Cheboksary a penalty, 78 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Roman Karamyshev, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Izhevsk FC's Arkadiy Kovezin. 2-2. In the 81st minute, Vadim Gorbachev reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Arkadiy Kovezin. The goal made the score 2-3. Aleksey Maslyannikov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 91st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Cheboksary's Timur Novomlintsev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aleksey Maslyannikov in the 93rd minute of play. Timur Novomlintsev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sergey Kalnitskiy in the 95th minute of play. Arkadiy Kovezin made an important save on a dangerous shot by Valentin Epishkin in the 98th minute. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Cheboksary eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.