League Play-Off

Arena Volgograd
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Petr Marfin got the match started through his kick off. Leonard Starozhilov hit a great freekick 4 minutes into the match. 5 minutes into the match, Volgograd UTD's Vladislav Korolenkov broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. In the 6th match minute, Энергетик was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Leonard Starozhilov to maneuver through the defense. The supporters of Энергетик booed when Volgograd UTD was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 12 match minutes in a wonderful position. Stanislav Starozhilov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Varfolomey Baderskov's late challenge caught a Энергетик's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Varfolomey Baderskov helped the player get up and apologised. In the 17th match minute, Volgograd UTD was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Varfolomey Baderskov to maneuver through the defense. Pavel Sysoev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Trofim Veselov in the 22nd minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Volgograd UTD's zone, Trofim Veselov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Pavel Sysoev came out of the goal and Trofim Veselov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Trofim Veselov took the ball and in the 28 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Pavel Sysoev. Pavel Sysoev dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-1. Yaroslav Lihachev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Varfolomey Baderskov in the 32nd minute of play. After some careless play in the Volgograd UTD defense, Artur Bystrinin kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Pavel Sysoev. The Volgograd UTD fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Pavel Sysoev should have stopped the shot. Sergey Batygin could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 44th minute of the match, but Yaroslav Lihachev made a huge save. Artur Bystrinin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 46th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Trofim Veselov to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Trofim Veselov 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. In the 53rd minute Trofim Veselov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Pavel Sysoev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Yaroslav Lihachev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Petr Marfin, who was totally free with the ball in the 57th minute. In the 57th minute, Lev Gavrilenkov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After having played for 63 minutes, Sergey Batygin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Volgograd UTD's supporters crossed their fingers, but Sergey Batygin was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Yaroslav Lihachev stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Petr Marfin's shot from short distance in the 64th minute. Yaroslav Lihachev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Petr Marfin, who was totally free with the ball in the 76th minute. After having played for 78 minutes, Sergey Batygin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Volgograd UTD's supporters crossed their fingers, but Sergey Batygin was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. When Leonard Starozhilov fell near the penalty area in the 80th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Энергетик's protests and gave Leonard Starozhilov a yellow card for diving instead. Yaroslav Lihachev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Sergey Batygin in the 84th minute of the match. 86 minutes into the game, Yakov Odintsov was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Энергетик's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Volgograd UTD the free kick. A collision led to Энергетик getting a freekick after 86 minutes play. Yakov Odintsov hit a great ball. Yaroslav Lihachev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Boris Morozov, who was totally free with the ball in the 95th minute. The Volgograd UTD supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Энергетик's performance. The match ended with a win for Энергетик.