League Play-Off

Stadion Makhachkala
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) In the 6th minute, Igor Pikaev ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Rudolf Sanzhiev was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Boris Karapetyants stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Ivan Mamakin's shot from short distance in the 17th minute. 19 minutes into the game, David Uhov was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Makhachkala's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Novoshakhtinsk the free kick. In the 20th minute of the match Maksim Denisov sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Rudolf Sanzhiev skillfully saved the ball. David Uhov was shown his second yellow card after 25 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. David Uhov kicked well hit freekick during the 25th minute of the match. Leonid Fedotov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 27th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rudolf Sanzhiev having to interfere. After having played for 32 minutes, Leonid Fedotov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Novoshakhtinsk's supporters crossed their fingers, but Leonid Fedotov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Leonid Fedotov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 39th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Egor Kletnov in the 41st minute of play forced Makhachkala's goalkeeper Rudolf Sanzhiev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Makhachkala's Grigoriy Shevchuk shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 46th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Boris Karapetyants but with some difficulty. After the first half Novoshakhtinsk were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Aleksandr Babarykin made a kick off. When Igor Pikaev came up free with the goalie in the 54th minute, the Novoshakhtinsk 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 Igor Pikaev couldn't finish the play. Novoshakhtinsk's Leonid Fedotov got a good chance for a goal in the 56th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Leonid Fedotov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 58th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rudolf Sanzhiev having to interfere. In the 63rd minute, Igor Pikaev reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Rudolf Sanzhiev. The goal made the score 0-2. After some fancy dribbling in the 72nd minute, Leonid Fedotov managed to get in a good position for a shot. Novoshakhtinsk's supporters rose to their feet, but Leonid Fedotov was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Rudolf Sanzhiev breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Leonid Fedotov blasted a shot towards the goal in the 78th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Rudolf Sanzhiev having to make a save. 1-2 became the score in the 81st minute when Aleksandr Babarykin elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. Leonid Fedotov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 86th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Aleksandr Babarykin in the 88th minute of play forced Novoshakhtinsk's goalkeeper Boris Karapetyants to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 90th minute, Egor Kletnov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The Makhachkala fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Novoshakhtinsk were clearly better and deserved to take the win.