League Play-Off

Stadion Abakan
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Abakan's Oleg Ivanov started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. When Oleg Ivanov fell near the penalty area in the 4th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Abakan's protests and gave Oleg Ivanov a yellow card for diving instead. After a rather tough play, Abakan's Oleg Ivanov got a free kick in the 4th minute. After having played for 5 minutes, Polikarp Sevan managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Shahty's supporters crossed their fingers, but Polikarp Sevan was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 7th minute, Stepan Marshanskiy hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Veniamin Kosunov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Polikarp Sevan had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 21st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience was convinced that Veniamin Kosunov's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Irakliy Svetin was relentless in the 23rd minute of the game. An unexpectedly hard shot by Polikarp Sevan in the 27th minute of play forced Abakan's goalkeeper Irakliy Svetin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Stepan Marshanskiy hit a great freekick 29 minutes into the match. When Polikarp Sevan came up free with the goalie in the 45th minute, the Shahty 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 Polikarp Sevan couldn't finish the play. The supporters of Abakan booed when Shahty was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 46 match minutes in a wonderful position. Emmanuil Yarmonenko didn't get a good kick on the ball. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Veniamin Kosunov to make the kick off. Abakan's Irakliy Svetin proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 52nd minute of the match, managed to save Abakan from getting a goal against them. Leonid Pikaev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Maksim Abdurakhmanov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Irakliy Svetin showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Veniamin Kosunov, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. In the 68th minute, Valentin Nikonov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 77th minute of the game. One of Abakan:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Shahty:s goal. Vitaliy Ustimovich walked up to take care of the penalty kick. He was aiming for the top corner, but the ball went just outside the post. Veniamin Kosunov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 82nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Aleksandr Frolov's late challenge caught a Abakan's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Aleksandr Frolov helped the player get up and apologised. The supporters of Abakan booed when Shahty was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 90 match minutes in a wonderful position. Aleksandr Frolov didn't get a good kick on the ball. 91 minutes into the match, Shahty's goal looked a bit too open when Oleg Ivanov came free, but Leonid Pikaev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Abakan's Irakliy Svetin proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 95th minute of the match, managed to save Abakan from getting a goal against them. Veniamin Kosunov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 98th minute. Irakliy Svetin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Shahty's supporters were dissatisfied at the end of the match because Abakan had won, even though Shahty had held more of the ball.