League Play-Off

Obninsk
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Valeriy Bestolov made the kick off and thus started the match. The supporters of Obninsk booed when Balashikha was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 3 match minutes in a wonderful position. Evgeniy Bisin didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 6 minutes Balashikha's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Dmitriy Petuhov who took care of the corner kick. In the 9th minute, Vladimir Barybin ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Sergey Lytov was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. 12 minutes into the match, Balashikha's goal looked a bit too open when Kim Kovalev came free, but Anatoliy Matveev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Fedor Alhimenko hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. A collision led to Balashikha getting a freekick after 17 minutes play. Evgeniy Bisin hit a great ball. After a rather tough play, Balashikha's Vladimir Barybin got a free kick in the 19th minute. Kim Kovalev who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 20thth minute tested the skills of Anatoliy Matveev when he managed to save the team from getting behind. If Vladimir Barybin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 25th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 28 minutes into the game, Oleg Nesterov was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Obninsk's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Balashikha the free kick. Oleg Nesterov kicked well hit freekick during the 28th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Obninsk's Oleg Nesterov got a free kick in the 30th minute. In the 33rd minute the ball was on its way in behind Obninsk's goalkeeper Sergey Lytov, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Vladimir Barybin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 34th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sergey Lytov having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Valeriy Bestolov in the 37th minute of play forced Obninsk's goalkeeper Sergey Lytov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Sergey Lytov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vladimir Barybin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 43 minutes of play, Balashikha's Valeriy Bestolov made it 0-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Sergey Lytov was left in no man's land by his defense there! Anatoliy Matveev acted impressively in front of the goal and made a superb save when he, in the 46th minute, took the ball on the long shot from Oleg Nesterov. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Vladimir Barybin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 52nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 54 played minutes Balashikha got a freekick which was hit by Ippolit Kornilov. 58 minutes into the game, Nikolay Avdeev was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Obninsk's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Balashikha the free kick. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Valeriy Bestolov in the 63rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Sergey Lytov prevented the ball from getting in the gole. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sergey Petuhov in the 65th minute of play forced Balashikha's goalkeeper Anatoliy Matveev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Kim Kovalev fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Anatoliy Matveev having to interfere. Sergey Lytov made an important save on a dangerous shot by Vladimir Barybin in the 73rd minute. The audience thought a goal was coming when Vladimir Barybin got free with Sergey Lytov in the 74th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. If Valeriy Bestolov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 78th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a rather tough play, Obninsk's Marat Krivonogov got a free kick in the 81st minute. Sergey Lytov didn't succeed in stopping the ball in the 86th minute, which inside left pole to 0-3. Sergey Petuhov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Anatoliy Matveev having to interfere. Anatoliy Matveev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Kim Kovalev in the 92nd minute of the match. Sergey Petuhov might have been able to make a better finish in the 94th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Anatoliy Matveev. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Sergey Petuhov ran back to his position shaking his head. Vladimir Barybin who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 96thth minute tested the skills of Sergey Lytov when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Anatoliy Matveev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Kim Kovalev, who was totally free with the ball in the 97th minute. Balashikha's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.