League Play-Off

Stadion Irkutsk
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Natan Litovin made the kick off which started today's match. 5 minutes into the match, Irkutsk's goal looked a bit too open when Oleg Kuksa came free, but Gennadiy Terentiev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. If Oleg Kuksa had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Irkutsk's Natan Litovin got a good chance for a goal in the 10th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Eduard Ostapovich made a fantastic save in the 12th minute, when Eduard Ungern sent off a good shot on target. 15 minutes into the match, Irkutsk's goal looked a bit too open when Bronislav Karpikov came free, but Gennadiy Terentiev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Natan Litovin's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Eduard Ostapovich read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 19th minute of play. Gennadiy Terentiev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Oleg Kuksa, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Bronislav Karpikov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 26 minutes in the game, the ball went up into the seats when Sterlitamak FC's Bronislav Karpikov fired away a shot that was just a little bit too high. He walked away shaking his head. In the 27th minute, Oleg Kuksa left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Sterlitamak FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. Oleg Kuksa sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Eduard Ostapovich made an important save on a dangerous shot by Matvey Krainikov in the 38th minute. When Andrey Yavorivskiy fell near the penalty area in the 43rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Irkutsk's protests and gave Andrey Yavorivskiy a yellow card for diving instead. If Bronislav Karpikov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 47th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. 47 minutes into the game, Oleg Kuksa cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Gennadiy Terentiev was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Oleg Kuksa to make the kick off. Eduard Ostapovich showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Natan Litovin in the 58th minute of the match. The audience was convinced that Natan Litovin's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Eduard Ostapovich was relentless in the 60th minute of the game. Natan Litovin's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Eduard Ostapovich read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 62nd minute of play. A collision led to Irkutsk getting a freekick after 66 minutes play. Gennadiy Bashirov hit a great ball. Oleg Kuksa 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. Bronislav Karpikov struck a weak shot in the 79th minute. Gennadiy Terentiev didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Sterlitamak FC. Andrey Yavorivskiy was shown his second yellow card after 81 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. In the 82nd match minute, Irkutsk was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Andrey Yavorivskiy to maneuver through the defense. Matvey Krainikov struck a weak shot in the 84th minute. Eduard Ostapovich didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Irkutsk. In the 86th minute Matvey Krainikov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Eduard Ostapovich saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 87th minute of the match Pavel Parhalin sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Eduard Ostapovich skillfully saved the ball. In the 91st minute the ball was on its way in behind Irkutsk's goalkeeper Gennadiy Terentiev, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Gennadiy Bashirov's late challenge caught a Sterlitamak FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Gennadiy Bashirov helped the player get up and apologised. In the 93rd minute, Gennadiy Bashirov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Oleg Kuksa received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 95th minute. Gennadiy Terentiev tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Natan Litovin's late challenge caught a Sterlitamak FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Natan Litovin helped the player get up and apologised. Natan Litovin hit a great freekick 96 minutes into the match. After 98 played minutes Irkutsk got a freekick which was hit by Eduard Ungern. Andrey Leptyuzhnikov was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 99th played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal.