League Play-Off

Stadion Nizhny Novgo
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Nizhny Novgorod HC's Luka Sokolov 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. If May Borovin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 4th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 8th minute, May Borovin left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Pyatigorsk fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. In the 15th minute of the match Petr Gribovskiy shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Efim Bordovitsyn showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. 17 minutes into the match, Pyatigorsk's Danila Bogdanov broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. After a rather tough play, Pyatigorsk's Anatoliy Dorikov got a free kick in the 20th minute. 22 minutes into the match, Nizhny Novgorod HC's goal looked a bit too open when Andrey Zhuravlev came free, but Efim Bordovitsyn reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Andrey Zhuravlev in the 25th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Efim Bordovitsyn saved Nizhny Novgorod HC from getting behind. After a rather tough play, Pyatigorsk's Kirill Kirilenko got a free kick in the 26th minute. Stepan Tihin made an important save on a dangerous shot by Danila Dobroklonskiy in the 27th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Andrey Zhuravlev in the 34th minute of play forced Nizhny Novgorod HC's goalkeeper Efim Bordovitsyn to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Andrey Zhuravlev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 35th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Kirill Kirilenko had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 39th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Efim Bordovitsyn made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Andrey Zhuravlev in the 44th minute of play. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Andrey Zhuravlev to strike the kick off in the second half. Efim Bordovitsyn stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Andrey Zhuravlev's shot from short distance in the 51st minute. Stepan Tihin showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Luka Sokolov in the 55th minute of the match. In the 56th minute Danila Dobroklonskiy shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Stepan Tihin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a little luck, Nizhny Novgorod HC's Efim Bordovitsyn got control of the ball when May Borovin tried to sneak it across the goal line. 1-1 became the score in the 63rd minute when Luka Sokolov elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. The audience thought a goal was coming when May Borovin got free with Efim Bordovitsyn in the 66th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 68th minute, Danila Dobroklonskiy 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. Danila Dobroklonskiy received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 73rd minute. Stepan Tihin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 77 played minutes Nizhny Novgorod HC got a freekick which was hit by Igor Prohorov. Stepan Tihin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Luka Sokolov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Andrey Zhuravlev had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 94th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The Pyatigorsk players were the happier at the end of the match as they had prevented Nizhny Novgorod HC from taking control. The game ends in a draw.