League Play-Off

Novokuznetsk
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Georgiy Leonov got the match started through his kick off. Georgiy Leonov was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 11th minute. Novokuznetsk's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Georgiy Leonov during the 13th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Georgiy Leonov hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers German Pugachev in the 14th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Aleksey Alferov saved Novokuznetsk from getting behind. In the 17th minute, German Pugachev ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Aleksey Alferov was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. After 21 played minutes, Novokuznetsk's Aleksandr Lodyzhenskiy shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Daniil Kargin came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Novokuznetsk reached it. German Pugachev fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 24th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Aleksey Alferov having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by German Pugachev in the 29th minute of play forced Novokuznetsk's goalkeeper Aleksey Alferov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Georgiy Leonov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 33rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Daniil Kargin having to interfere. Aleksandr Akinfeev's late challenge caught a Novokuznetsk's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Aleksandr Akinfeev helped the player get up and apologised. In the 34th match minute, Pskov FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Aleksandr Akinfeev to maneuver through the defense. German Pugachev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 41 minutes into the game, Danila Shandybin was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Pskov FC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Novokuznetsk the free kick. Danila Shandybin kicked well hit freekick during the 41st minute of the match. 43 minutes in the game Rudolf Andreev after having made a beautiful turn got a great opportunity to score and fired away a shot that went just to the left past a relieved Daniil Kargin. A very good opportunity. Daniil Kargin stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Georgiy Leonov's shot from short distance in the 46th minute. Aleksandr Akinfeev got his second yellow card in the match during the 46th minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. After a rather tough play, Pskov FC's Aleksandr Akinfeev got a free kick in the 47th minute.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for German Pugachev to strike the kick off in the second half. After 54 minutes, Ruslan Shtyrkin mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Novokuznetsk and the Pskov FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. Ruslan Shtyrkin kicked well hit freekick during the 54th minute of the match. German Pugachev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 56th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 65 played minutes Novokuznetsk got a freekick which was hit by Gennadiy Golovatyuk. In the 68th minute Dmitriy Zuev suffered a thigh injury and had to be helped off the field. Ruslan Shtyrkin was shown his second yellow card after 69 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. After a rather tough play, Novokuznetsk's Ruslan Shtyrkin got a free kick in the 70th minute. Petr Hlopotin charged in rather forcefully in the 71st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Petr Hlopotin the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 71 played minutes Novokuznetsk got a freekick which was hit by Petr Hlopotin. 75 minutes into the match, Pskov FC's Kirill Aleksandrov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Aleksey Alferov narrowly saved just below the crossbar. After some fancy dribbling in the 77th minute, German Pugachev managed to get in a good position for a shot. Pskov FC's supporters rose to their feet, but German Pugachev was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Aleksey Alferov breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 78 minutes into the game, Oleg Dobrynin was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Novokuznetsk's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Pskov FC the free kick. In the 78th minute, Oleg Dobrynin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a defensive mix-up in Pskov FC's zone, Gennadiy Golovatyuk stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Daniil Kargin came out of the goal and Gennadiy Golovatyuk tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gennadiy Golovatyuk in the 81st minute of play forced Pskov FC's goalkeeper Daniil Kargin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Zinoviy Bulavka received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 83rd minute. Daniil Kargin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The Pskov FC supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Pskov FC would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.