League Play-Off

Stadion Serpukhov
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) When the match clock showed 5 minutes, the score became 0-1 when Albert Potapenko sped through Serpukhov's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Sergey Strizhev. Rudolf Bogatskiy charged in rather forcefully in the 9th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Rudolf Bogatskiy the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 10 played minutes Kursk got a freekick which was hit by Rudolf Bogatskiy. Albert Potapenko fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 15th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sergey Strizhev having to interfere. Albert Potapenko's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Sergey Strizhev read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 18th minute of play. Ignat Bukashkin made an important save on a dangerous shot by Valentin Teterin in the 19th minute. Sergey Strizhev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Albert Potapenko in the 28th minute of play. In the 37th minute, Kursk's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Valentin Teterin fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. After the first half Kursk were leading 0-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Albert Potapenko to strike the kick off in the second half. Sergey Strizhev was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Albert Potapenko showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 0-3 in the 52 minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Serpukhov's zone, Albert Potapenko stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Sergey Strizhev came out of the goal and Albert Potapenko tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Ruslan Ponomarenko fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 56th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sergey Strizhev having to interfere. Sergey Strizhev made a fantastic save in the 59th minute, when Ruslan Ponomarenko sent off a good shot on target. Ruslan Ponomarenko recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 75th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 80th minute the ball was on its way in behind Serpukhov's goalkeeper Sergey Strizhev, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. The Kursk supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Kursk would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.