League Play-Off

Tula
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Tula's Igor Babkin 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. After 10 played minutes Tula's Mark Dikovskiy stole the ball from his opponents and shot the ball towards the upper left corner, but Andrey Sitnik stretched himself as far as he could, and stopped the ball from passing the line. robbing Kaluga FC of the goal. In the 11th minute Semen Lyukov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gleb Demyanenko saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 15th minute, Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov 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. Yakov Arshinnikov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 18th minute. Gleb Demyanenko tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Andrey Sitnik showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Igor Babkin, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. Yakov Arshinnikov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 26th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Kaluga FC's Andrey Sitnik played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Igor Babkin in the 28th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Kaluga FC's zone, Igor Babkin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Andrey Sitnik came out of the goal and Igor Babkin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Mark Dikovskiy's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Andrey Sitnik firmly grabbed it by the left post. Mark Dikovskiy struck a weak shot in the 37th minute. Andrey Sitnik didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Tula. Arkadiy Baskov kicked well hit freekick during the 38th minute of the match. Mark Dikovskiy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 42nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Andrey Sitnik having to interfere. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Yakov Arshinnikov was the one to do the kick off. Kaluga FC's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by David Slepko in the 54th minute. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Tula's goalie and right to Paramon Chichin. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Tula's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. In the 62ndth minute of the game Igor Babkin who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Kaluga FC's Andrey Sitnik was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. A collision led to Tula getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Igor Babkin hit a great ball. Semen Lyukov was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 67th minute. Kaluga FC's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. If Mark Dikovskiy had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Andrey Sitnik took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a rather tough play, Kaluga FC's Grigoriy Dobrodeev got a free kick in the 75th minute. In the 76th minute of the match Semen Usov shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Andrey Sitnik showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. A collision led to Kaluga FC getting a freekick after 77 minutes play. David Slepko hit a great ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 80th minute, Igor Babkin managed to get in a good position for a shot. Tula's supporters rose to their feet, but Igor Babkin was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Andrey Sitnik breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After having played for 88 minutes, Mark Dikovskiy managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Tula's supporters crossed their fingers, but Mark Dikovskiy was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Mark Dikovskiy in the 90th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Andrey Sitnik saved Kaluga FC from getting behind. Igor Babkin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 97th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Kaluga FC were delighted with the way they had won the match. They had held their defensive line well and made the most of their chances, to claim a victory over Tula's much stronger midfield.