League Play-Off

Balashikha
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Lev Korolev took the kick off in the first half of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lev Korolev in the 3rd minute of play forced Balashikha's goalkeeper Sergey Beznin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Valentin Babushkin's late challenge caught a Almetyevsk's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Valentin Babushkin helped the player get up and apologised. Valentin Babushkin hit a great freekick 4 minutes into the match. After a rather tough play, Balashikha's Sergey Dmitrienko got a free kick in the 6th minute. 9 minutes into the match, Almetyevsk's goalkeeper Veniamin Eliseev had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Arseniy Galanov. A collision led to Almetyevsk getting a freekick after 12 minutes play. Kliment Babarykin hit a great ball. Rustam Migulin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The supporters of Almetyevsk booed when Balashikha was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 17 match minutes in a wonderful position. Nikolay Ushakov didn't get a good kick on the ball. 18 minutes into the match, Balashikha's goal looked a bit too open when Lev Korolev came free, but Sergey Beznin reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Mikhail Filatov was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 21st minute. Balashikha's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. In the 22nd match minute, Almetyevsk was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Kliment Babarykin to maneuver through the defense. Sergey Beznin showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rustam Migulin in the 25th minute of the match. A collision led to Almetyevsk getting a freekick after 28 minutes play. Oleg Abramchikov hit a great ball. Sergey Beznin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rustam Migulin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Rustam Migulin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 40th minute. Sergey Beznin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mikhail Filatov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 45th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. If Mikhail Filatov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 47th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Mikhail Filatov stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After some careless play in the Almetyevsk defense, Mikhail Filatov kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Veniamin Eliseev. The Almetyevsk fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Veniamin Eliseev should have stopped the shot. Lev Korolev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 65th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 77 minutes into the game, Moisey Grishanin was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Balashikha's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Almetyevsk the free kick. The supporters of Almetyevsk booed when Balashikha was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 77 match minutes in a wonderful position. Moisey Grishanin didn't get a good kick on the ball. Veniamin Eliseev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Arseniy Galanov in the 80th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Mikhail Filatov in the 81st minute of play forced Almetyevsk's goalkeeper Veniamin Eliseev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, Balashikha's Nikolay Ushakov got a free kick in the 82nd minute. After having played for 86 minutes, Lev Korolev managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Almetyevsk's supporters crossed their fingers, but Lev Korolev was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 89 minutes into the match, Arseniy Galanov had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Veniamin Eliseev. Almetyevsk's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Arseniy Galanov was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-0. Sergey Beznin was out of position in the 94 minute of play, and Lev Korolev capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Lev Korolev really showed his touch with that goal: 2-1. Balashikha were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Almetyevsk for a fine match.