League Play-Off

Stadion Kostroma
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Rudolf Voskoboinikov kicked off to start the match. Pavel Verhovskoy made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rudolf Voskoboinikov in the 4th minute of play. Pavel Gutsaev 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. Neftchi's Pavel Nametkin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aleksey Samko in the 15th minute of play. Anton Edeshko succeeded to score despite a near miss that spronge from right pole into the goal to 1-0 in the 16th playminute. Aleksey Samko fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 22nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Pavel Nametkin having to interfere. Rudolf Voskoboinikov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 25th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Kostroma FC's Aleksey Samko got a good chance for a goal in the 32nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After 34 minutes, Denis Novikov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Neftchi and the Kostroma FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 34th minute, Denis Novikov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Bronislav Tyunin, 35 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. Rudolf Voskoboinikov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 37th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Pavel Verhovskoy having to interfere. After having played for 41 minutes, Aleksey Samko managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Kostroma FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Aleksey Samko was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Pavel Nametkin showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Aleksey Samko in the 45th minute of the match. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Aleksey Samko stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. If Anton Edeshko had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 56th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Pavel Verhovskoy took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rudolf Voskoboinikov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Pavel Verhovskoy made an important save on a dangerous shot by Pavel Gutsaev in the 62nd minute. In the 69th match minute, Neftchi was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Denis Novikov to maneuver through the defense. Pavel Verhovskoy made a fantastic save in the 73rd minute, when Pavel Gutsaev sent off a good shot on target. Neftchi's Pavel Gutsaev got a good chance for a goal in the 78th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Aleksey Samko sent away a hard shot on goal in the 86th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 91st minute, Aleksey Samko 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. For all the effort they put into the match, the Neftchi players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Kostroma FC.