League Play-Off

Stadion Kazan
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Velimir Allagulov kicked off to start the match. Rudolf Usachenko made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Velimir Allagulov in the 5th minute of play. Vsevolod Potapov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 7th minute. Guriy Gavrilov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Birobidzhan FC's Viktor Aleksandrenko got a good chance for a goal in the 10th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. With his leg Rudolf Usachenko managed to avoid a goal in the 13thth minute, when Kazan's Eduard Ignashevich fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. Viktor Aleksandrenko received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 15th minute. Guriy Gavrilov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 18 played minutes Birobidzhan FC got a freekick which was hit by Vitaliy Fomin. The audience thought it was a sure goal in the 19th minute, when Kazan's Nikolay Maksimov after having done a great run through the defense got himself free with Rudolf Usachenko in Birobidzhan FC's goal and fired away a shot, but it missed the goal by a fraction of an inch. Eduard Ignashevich sent away a hard shot on goal in the 21st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. With a little luck, Birobidzhan FC's Rudolf Usachenko got control of the ball when Eduard Ignashevich tried to sneak it across the goal line. After 27 played minutes Birobidzhan FC got a freekick which was hit by Mark Nesterenko. Velimir Allagulov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 31st minute. Rudolf Usachenko tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Rudolf Usachenko took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Velimir Allagulov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The crowd rose to their feet as Kazan's Eduard Ignashevich slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Rudolf Usachenko. That made the score 1-0 after 36 minutes of play. Rudolf Usachenko showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Velimir Allagulov, who was totally free with the ball in the 43rd minute. Velimir Allagulov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 47th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rudolf Usachenko having to interfere. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

The wind increased when Viktor Aleksandrenko made the kick off in the second half. When Mark Nesterenko fell near the penalty area in the 55th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Birobidzhan FC's protests and gave Mark Nesterenko a yellow card for diving instead. Mark Nesterenko hit a great freekick 55 minutes into the match. 56 minutes into the game, Velimir Allagulov was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Kazan's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Birobidzhan FC the free kick. Birobidzhan FC's Viktor Aleksandrenko got a good chance for a goal in the 58th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Vsevolod Potapov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 59th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Guriy Gavrilov having to interfere. Rudolf Usachenko showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Velimir Allagulov, who was totally free with the ball in the 65th minute. Rudolf Usachenko made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Velimir Allagulov in the 66th minute of play. 70 minutes into the match, Kazan's goalkeeper Guriy Gavrilov had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Vsevolod Potapov. The audience thought a goal was coming when Vsevolod Potapov got free with Guriy Gavrilov in the 72nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Vsevolod Potapov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 74th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 85 minutes into the game, Sergey Karamyshev was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Kazan's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Birobidzhan FC the free kick. After a rather tough play, Kazan's Sergey Karamyshev got a free kick in the 85th minute. Eduard Ignashevich blasted a shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Rudolf Usachenko having to make a save. Rudolf Usachenko took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Velimir Allagulov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Viktor Aleksandrenko had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 95th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Vitaliy Starshinin's late challenge caught a Birobidzhan FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Vitaliy Starshinin helped the player get up and apologised. After 96 played minutes Kazan got a freekick which was hit by Vitaliy Starshinin. Both teams had looked equal from kick-off, and no-one was surprised when the match finally ended in a draw.