League Play-Off

Stadion Arkhangelsk
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Arkhangelsk's Yakov Moiseev 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. Arkhangelsk's Roman Panfilov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Stepan Ponomarev in the 2nd minute of play. Stepan Ponomarev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Igor Kostromskoy scored 0-1 in the 6th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Roman Panfilov, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Roman Panfilov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Igor Kostromskoy in the 9th minute of play. A collision led to Arkhangelsk getting a freekick after 15 minutes play. Yakov Moiseev hit a great ball. After some careless play in the Arkhangelsk defense, Stepan Ponomarev kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Roman Panfilov. The Arkhangelsk fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Roman Panfilov should have stopped the shot. Nikolay Vysheslavskiy sent away a hard shot on goal in the 26th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Nikolay Vysheslavskiy sent away a hard shot on goal in the 28th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Novotroitsk HC's goalkeeper couldn't reach when Yakov Moiseev 32 minutes into the game got a good kick on the ball which found its way into goal just inside left pole. 1-2. After 36 minutes, Yakov Moiseev made it 2-2 with a short kick to the right side. Novotroitsk HC's Gennadiy Astratov tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. In the 39th match minute, Arkhangelsk was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Nikolay Voronin to maneuver through the defense. Igor Kostromskoy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 42nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Roman Panfilov having to interfere. The supporters of Novotroitsk HC booed when Arkhangelsk was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 43 match minutes in a wonderful position. Vsevolod Korzhakov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Nikolay Vysheslavskiy's late challenge caught a Novotroitsk HC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Nikolay Vysheslavskiy helped the player get up and apologised. In the 45th match minute, Arkhangelsk was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Nikolay Vysheslavskiy to maneuver through the defense. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

The wind increased when Igor Kostromskoy made the kick off in the second half. With a little luck, Arkhangelsk's Roman Panfilov got control of the ball when Irakliy Paseko tried to sneak it across the goal line. Roman Panfilov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Igor Kostromskoy in the 54th minute of the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Stepan Ponomarev got free with Roman Panfilov in the 59th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Stepan Ponomarev fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 60th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Roman Panfilov having to interfere. A collision led to Arkhangelsk getting a freekick after 62 minutes play. Vsevolod Korzhakov hit a great ball. The audience was convinced that Nikolay Vysheslavskiy's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Gennadiy Astratov was relentless in the 65th minute of the game. Stepan Ponomarev succeeded to score despite a near miss that spronge from right pole into the goal to 2-3 in the 66th playminute. In the 75th of the match, Igor Kostromskoy tried to place the ball in the upper right corner, but Roman Panfilov got in the way and made a wonderful save. The audience thought a goal was coming when Ruslan Mironkov got free with Roman Panfilov in the 84th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 91st minute Yakov Moiseev shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gennadiy Astratov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Arkadiy Mazuruk's shot from long distance in the 92nd minute was not bad at all, but Arkhangelsk's Roman Panfilov knew what was happening and pushed the ball into his arms just before it hit the right post. The second half was just like the first, even and exciting. The match ended in a draw.