League Play-Off

Stadion Syktyvkar
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Oleg Vul kicked off to start the match. When Semen Balakhnin fell near the penalty area in the 2nd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Syktyvkar's protests and gave Semen Balakhnin a yellow card for diving instead. The supporters of Khasavyurt FC booed when Syktyvkar was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 3 match minutes in a wonderful position. Semen Balakhnin didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some careless play in the Syktyvkar defense, Ivan Zavyalov kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Innokentiy Stepashin. The Syktyvkar fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Innokentiy Stepashin should have stopped the shot. After 9 minutes, Irakliy Sergeev mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Khasavyurt FC and the Syktyvkar players grew even worse after the yellow card. Ivan Zavyalov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 17th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 19th minute, Ivan Zavyalov ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Innokentiy Stepashin was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-3. When Oleg Vul fell near the penalty area in the 23rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Syktyvkar's protests and gave Oleg Vul a yellow card for diving instead. In the 23rd minute, Oleg Vul hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. During the 24th minute of the match Semen Balakhnin completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Semen Balakhnin a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. In the 26th minute Boris Suhanov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Innokentiy Stepashin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 29th minute the ball was on its way in behind Syktyvkar's goalkeeper Innokentiy Stepashin, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. If Pavel Folkuyanov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 29th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. A collision led to Khasavyurt FC getting a freekick after 33 minutes play. Irakliy Sergeev hit a great ball. 38 minutes into the match, Syktyvkar's Oleg Vul sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Valeriy Ershov narrowly saved just below the crossbar. After 43 minutes, Konstantin Abalakin mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Syktyvkar and the Khasavyurt FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 43rd minute, Konstantin Abalakin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Boris Suhanov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 45th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ivan Zavyalov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 47th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Innokentiy Stepashin having to interfere.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Boris Suhanov to make the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Konstantin Abalakin in the 52nd minute of play forced Khasavyurt FC's goalkeeper Valeriy Ershov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Boris Suhanov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 54th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 59th minute the ball was on its way in behind Khasavyurt FC's goalkeeper Valeriy Ershov, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 61st match minute, Khasavyurt FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ivan Zavyalov to maneuver through the defense. In the 62nd minute, Kirill Zuev hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 67 minutes, Stepan Klyuchenkov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Syktyvkar and the Khasavyurt FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. In a very dangerous position, a player in Syktyvkar fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 67th minute. Penalty! If Pavel Folkuyanov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 72nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The supporters of Syktyvkar booed when Khasavyurt FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 74 match minutes in a wonderful position. Aleksey Puzyrev didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 75th minute, Pavel Folkuyanov made a precise shot to the right of Valeriy Ershov. Khasavyurt FC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-4. Stepan Klyuchenkov hit a great freekick 80 minutes into the match. In the 88th match minute, Khasavyurt FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Yakov Shitov to maneuver through the defense. Boris Suhanov struck a weak shot in the 97th minute. Innokentiy Stepashin didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Khasavyurt FC. The Syktyvkar supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Khasavyurt FC's performance. The match ended with a win for Khasavyurt FC.