League Play-Off

Stadion Cherepovets
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Ekaterinburg's Stepan Denisov started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Timofey Tarabrin showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gerasim Chvanov in the 2nd minute of the match. Innokentiy Chernomordov's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Timofey Tarabrin read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 5th minute of play. Maksim Nesterov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Stepan Denisov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Timofey Tarabrin made an important save on a dangerous shot by Innokentiy Chernomordov in the 11th minute. Maksim Nesterov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Stepan Denisov in the 15th minute of play. If Stepan Denisov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 17th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Stepan Denisov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 21st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 25 minutes into the game, Dmitriy Kozhnev was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Ekaterinburg's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Cherepovets the free kick. After 25 played minutes Ekaterinburg got a freekick which was hit by Dmitriy Kozhnev. The audience held their breath when Gennadiy Fanakov in the 27th minute of the game managed to trick the opponents defenses and fired away a shot outside the goal on the Timofey Tarabrin's left hand side. In the 32nd match minute, Ekaterinburg was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Andrey Shafirov to maneuver through the defense. 33 minutes into the match, Ekaterinburg's goalkeeper Timofey Tarabrin had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Innokentiy Chernomordov. In the 35th minute, Gerasim Chvanov got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 37th minute, Gerasim Chvanov fired away a shot on goal. He put a little to much spin on the ball and sent it just wide of the right post. Vasiliy Pervyh fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 39th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Maksim Nesterov having to interfere. Gerasim Chvanov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 41st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. If Innokentiy Chernomordov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 44th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Innokentiy Chernomordov got free with Timofey Tarabrin in the 46th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After having played for 48 minutes, Innokentiy Chernomordov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Cherepovets's supporters crossed their fingers, but Innokentiy Chernomordov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 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.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Gerasim Chvanov was the one to do the kick off. Innokentiy Chernomordov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 66th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 69 minutes into the game, one of Ekaterinburg:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Vladislav Smelyantsev during the 73rd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Cherepovets getting a freekick after 74 minutes play. Vladislav Smelyantsev hit a great ball. In the 75th minute, Vasiliy Pervyh ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Maksim Nesterov was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. During the 79th minute of the match Dmitriy Kozhnev completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Dmitriy Kozhnev a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. After 80 played minutes Ekaterinburg got a freekick which was hit by Dmitriy Kozhnev. In the 83rd minute, Roman Palchevskiy sent off a long shot on goal, but the shot was nowhere near the goal and Ekaterinburg's Timofey Tarabrin didn't even have to move. If Vasiliy Pervyh had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 89th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Vasiliy Pervyh got free with Maksim Nesterov in the 92nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The audience was convinced that Gerasim Chvanov's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Timofey Tarabrin was relentless in the 100th minute of the game.