League Play-Off

Volgograd
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) If Pavel Nikonov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 5th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Vladislav Alov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 15th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Boris Seleznev having to interfere. Boris Seleznev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Pavel Nikonov, who was totally free with the ball in the 18th minute. Vladislav Alov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 28th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Boris Seleznev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Petr Lavrinovskiy in the 31st minute of the match. A collision led to Volgograd FC getting a freekick after 33 minutes play. Aleksandr Azovskiy hit a great ball. Yakov Kononov was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 34th played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. If Vladislav Alov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 36th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After some fancy dribbling in the 38th minute, Pavel Nikonov managed to get in a good position for a shot. Nizhnekamsk's supporters rose to their feet, but Pavel Nikonov was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Boris Seleznev breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. If Ernest Gorshkov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 43rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Ernest Gorshkov in the 47th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Aleksey Orlov prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

The wind increased when Pavel Nikonov made the kick off in the second half. If Ernest Gorshkov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 51st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 52nd match minute, Volgograd FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Stanislav Hramov to maneuver through the defense. 56 minutes into the match, Volgograd FC's Kirill Barobonov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Aleksey Orlov narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Thanks to some nice moves Vladislav Alov could shoot a difficult shot in the 59th minute, which Boris Seleznev however easily saved by the left post. Nikolay Bondarenko's late challenge caught a Nizhnekamsk's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Nikolay Bondarenko helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Volgograd FC's Nikolay Bondarenko got a free kick in the 62nd minute. In the 63rd minute of the match Yakov Kononov shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Boris Seleznev showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. In the 70th minute, Ernest Gorshkov left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Volgograd FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-0. If Timur Kovtunov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 74th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When Ernest Gorshkov came up free with the goalie in the 78th minute, the Volgograd FC 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 Ernest Gorshkov couldn't finish the play. Kirill Barobonov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 83rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a defensive mix-up in Volgograd FC's zone, Vladislav Alov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Boris Seleznev came out of the goal and Vladislav Alov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play.