League Play-Off

Stadion Ussuriysk
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Ussuriysk FC's Viktor Vershanskiy 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. Velikiy Novgorod were furious when Afanasiy Senokosov was red carded, 6 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. In the 5th minute, one of Velikiy Novgorod:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Velikiy Novgorod. Viktor Vershanskiy recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 11th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 12th minute, Nikita Ustinov made a precise shot to the right of Alfred Medvedev. Velikiy Novgorod's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 2-0. Nikita Ustinov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 17th minute. Alfred Medvedev tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 18th minute, Velikiy Novgorod's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Nikita Ustinov fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. When the match had gone on for 19 minutes, Viktor Vershanskiy put it in 3-0 from a short distance just to the right of Alfred Medvedev. The supporters of Ussuriysk FC booed when Velikiy Novgorod was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 22 match minutes in a wonderful position. Egor Novikov didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 23rd minute of the match Pavel Lepehin sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Alfred Medvedev skillfully saved the ball. Ussuriysk FC's Stanislav Moskovskiy played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Arseniy Emelyanov in the 26th minute of play. In the 32nd minute, Velikiy Novgorod's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Nikita Ustinov fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. After 35 minutes, Artur Parhomchuk mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Ussuriysk FC and the Velikiy Novgorod players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 35th match minute, Ussuriysk FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Artur Parhomchuk to maneuver through the defense. If Arseniy Emelyanov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 40th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Viktor Vershanskiy in the 47th minute of play forced Velikiy Novgorod's goalkeeper Alfred Medvedev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 3-0 at half-time.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Arseniy Emelyanov made a kick off. Arseniy Emelyanov might have been able to make a better finish in the 53rd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Stanislav Moskovskiy. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Arseniy Emelyanov ran back to his position shaking his head. Alfred Medvedev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nikita Ustinov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 56th minute, Nikita Ustinov made a precise shot to the right of Alfred Medvedev. Velikiy Novgorod's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 4-0. Nikita Ustinov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 62nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. With a little luck, Ussuriysk FC's Stanislav Moskovskiy got control of the ball when Arseniy Emelyanov tried to sneak it across the goal line. Alfred Medvedev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nikita Ustinov in the 73rd minute of the match. After some careless play in the Velikiy Novgorod defense, Vladimir Rafeichikov kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Alfred Medvedev. The Velikiy Novgorod fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Alfred Medvedev should have stopped the shot. After a rather tough play, Ussuriysk FC's Artur Parhomchuk got a free kick in the 79th minute. Igor Shastik received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 81st minute. Stanislav Moskovskiy tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 83rd minute, Arseniy Emelyanov managed to get in a good position for a shot. Velikiy Novgorod's supporters rose to their feet, but Arseniy Emelyanov was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Stanislav Moskovskiy breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. If Nikita Ustinov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 85th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. When Arseniy Emelyanov came up free with the goalie in the 88th minute, the Velikiy Novgorod fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Arseniy Emelyanov couldn't finish the play. Nikita Ustinov might have been able to make a better finish in the 92nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Alfred Medvedev. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Nikita Ustinov ran back to his position shaking his head. Alfred Medvedev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nikita Ustinov in the 92nd minute of play. 95 minutes into the match, Arseniy Emelyanov had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Stanislav Moskovskiy. Ussuriysk FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Arseniy Emelyanov was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 5-1. Velikiy Novgorod's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.