League Play-Off

Balashikha
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Zinoviy Barhin started the match with the kick off. Arsen Feopentov struck a weak shot in the 5th minute. Timur Malafeev didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Balashikha HC. Arsen Feopentov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 7th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The supporters of Petropavlovsk-Kamch. booed when Balashikha HC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 13 match minutes in a wonderful position. Sergey Emlyutin didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 14 played minutes, Petropavlovsk-Kamch.'s Andrey Glinkov shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Afanasiy Simonov came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Petropavlovsk-Kamch. reached it. An unexpectedly hard shot by Arsen Feopentov in the 18th minute of play forced Petropavlovsk-Kamch.'s goalkeeper Timur Malafeev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 20th minute Balashikha HC were awarded a corner. Vadim Rusanov went to the cornerflag to take it. After taking down the ball on Balashikha HC's corner Vadim Rusanov fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Timur Malafeev quite easily take care of the ball. After 20 played minutes Petropavlovsk-Kamch. got a freekick which was hit by Andrey Glinkov. In the 25th minute, Velimir Deich made a precise shot to the right of Afanasiy Simonov. Balashikha HC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. Marat Panin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 30th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Timur Malafeev having to interfere. Arsen Feopentov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Sergey Emlyutin's late challenge caught a Petropavlovsk-Kamch.'s player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Sergey Emlyutin helped the player get up and apologised. In the 39th match minute, Balashikha HC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Sergey Emlyutin to maneuver through the defense. Velimir Deich sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Velimir Deich fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 45th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Afanasiy Simonov having to interfere. Afanasiy Simonov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Zinoviy Barhin in the 48th minute of play. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Arsen Feopentov made a kick off. In the 52nd minute, Arsen Feopentov got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. The referee felt a red card was in order, 54 minutes into the game, when Andrey Ivashev put in a rough tackle. After 54 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Balashikha HC! 60 minutes into the game, Marat Panin cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-2. Timur Malafeev was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. A collision led to Balashikha HC getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Sergey Emlyutin hit a great ball. In the 70th minute, Petropavlovsk-Kamch.'s Zinoviy Barhin dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-3. Petropavlovsk-Kamch.'s Velimir Deich got a good chance for a goal in the 75th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Zinoviy Barhin 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. 84 minutes into the match, Velimir Deich notched a goal, 1-4, to the right of Balashikha HC's Afanasiy Simonov. Afanasiy Simonov was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. After having played for 93 minutes, Marat Panin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Balashikha HC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Marat Panin 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 94th match minute, Petropavlovsk-Kamch. was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Artur Sakharov to maneuver through the defense. A collision led to Petropavlovsk-Kamch. getting a freekick after 97 minutes play. Rudolf Kudrin hit a great ball. Petropavlovsk-Kamch.'s supporters were very happy and cheered loudly because their team had won after a very close match.