League Play-Off

Stadion Novy Urengoy
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Danila Vestov started the match with the kick off. If Lev Dobryanskiy had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 4th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Sergey Bitkov in the 6th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Pavel Aksakov saved Novy Urengoy HC from getting behind. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sergey Bitkov in the 15th minute of play forced Novy Urengoy HC's goalkeeper Pavel Aksakov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 18th minute, Egor Tuguzhekov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Saratov FC's Anatoliy Trebuhin couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 19th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Novy Urengoy HC. Pavel Aksakov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lev Dobryanskiy, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 22 minutes into the match, Lev Dobryanskiy had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Pavel Aksakov. Novy Urengoy HC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Lev Dobryanskiy was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. If Sergey Bitkov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 25th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After having played for 27 minutes, Sergey Bitkov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Saratov FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Sergey Bitkov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 28th minute, Egor Tuguzhekov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Pavel Aksakov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sergey Bitkov in the 32nd minute of play. In the 33rd minute Lev Dobryanskiy shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Pavel Aksakov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 34th minute, Rudolf Lobanovskiy hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some fancy dribbling in the 45th minute, Anatoliy Shabunin managed to get in a good position for a shot. Novy Urengoy HC's supporters rose to their feet, but Anatoliy Shabunin was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Efim Yudin breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Lev Dobryanskiy to strike the kick off in the second half. Lev Dobryanskiy received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 51st minute. Pavel Aksakov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Lev Dobryanskiy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 54th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Pavel Aksakov having to interfere. Sergey Bitkov 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. Danila Vestov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 60th minute. Efim Yudin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Saratov FC's Efim Yudin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Danila Vestov in the 62nd minute of play. Anatoliy Shabunin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 65th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Efim Yudin having to interfere. When Boris Zuev fell near the penalty area in the 69th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Saratov FC's protests and gave Boris Zuev a yellow card for diving instead. Anatoliy Shabunin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 70th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Efim Yudin having to interfere. With a little luck, Novy Urengoy HC's Pavel Aksakov got control of the ball when Sergey Bitkov tried to sneak it across the goal line. Eduard Afanasenko kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. Sergey Bitkovs short, quick shot in the 75thth minute got Pavel Aksakov to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. If Sergey Bitkov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 89th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Danila Vestov in the 93rd minute of play forced Saratov FC's goalkeeper Efim Yudin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The Saratov FC players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.