League Play-Off

Stadion Volgodonsk
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Petr Koroban got the match started through his kick off. The audience was convinced that Aleksey Chertkovskiy's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Anatoliy Aleinikov was relentless in the 3rd minute of the game. Marat Karatsupa sent away a hard shot on goal in the 5th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Aleksey Chertkovskiy kicked well hit freekick during the 8th minute of the match. In the 9th minute, Fedor Kalinin sent off a long shot on goal, but the shot was nowhere near the goal and Elektrostal FC's Erofey Shein didn't even have to move. In the 11th minute, Petr Koroban 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. After a defensive mix-up in Elektrostal FC's zone, Marat Karatsupa stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Erofey Shein came out of the goal and Marat Karatsupa tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Elektrostal FC's Erofey Shein proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 18th minute of the match, managed to save Elektrostal FC from getting a goal against them. In the 21st minute the ball was on its way in behind Elektrostal FC's goalkeeper Erofey Shein, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the last second Erofey Shein throw himself and got hold of the ball when Petr Koroban in the 22ndth minute from his position got away a shot towards the right post. Anatoliy Aleinikov didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Vladimir Steklovskiy went, in the 27th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. Marat Karatsupa was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 32nd minute. Volgodonsk's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. After some fancy dribbling in the 39th minute, Arkadiy Shulev managed to get in a good position for a shot. Elektrostal FC's supporters rose to their feet, but Arkadiy Shulev was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Anatoliy Aleinikov breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Marat Karatsupa in the 46thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Erofey Shein, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. Petr Koroban received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 48th minute. Erofey Shein tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The supporters of Elektrostal FC booed when Volgodonsk was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 54 match minutes in a wonderful position. Aleksey Gershkovich didn't get a good kick on the ball. Erofey Shein showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Petr Koroban, who was totally free with the ball in the 58th minute. When Mikhail Povetnikov fell near the penalty area in the 59th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Elektrostal FC's protests and gave Mikhail Povetnikov a yellow card for diving instead. Mikhail Povetnikov hit a great freekick 59 minutes into the match. Volgodonsk's attack was well implemented in the 62nd minute, but when Marat Karatsupa was about to shoot he didn't get a good hit on the ball and it hit the crossbar and flew over. Goal Kick. In the 64th minute, Marat Karatsupa 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. 72 minutes into the match, Volgodonsk's Marat Karatsupa sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Erofey Shein narrowly saved just below the crossbar. An unexpectedly hard shot by Arkadiy Shulev in the 73rd minute of play forced Volgodonsk's goalkeeper Anatoliy Aleinikov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 80th minute, Elektrostal FC's Arkadiy Shulev dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 0-2. Volgodonsk's Dmitriy Kerzhakov suffered a sprained foot after 83 minutes and couldn't finish the game. Aleksey Chertkovskiy's late challenge caught a Volgodonsk's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Aleksey Chertkovskiy helped the player get up and apologised. In the 84th match minute, Elektrostal FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Aleksey Chertkovskiy to maneuver through the defense. After 90 minutes, Veniamin Baevskiy mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Elektrostal FC and the Volgodonsk players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Elektrostal FC getting a freekick after 90 minutes play. Veniamin Baevskiy hit a great ball. Elektrostal FC's supporters were very happy and cheered loudly because their team had won after a very close match.