League Play-Off

Kiselevsk
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The audience was convinced that Rostislav Arshavin's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Aleksandr Kovalev was relentless in the 2nd minute of the game. When the match had gone on for 2 minutes, Rostislav Arshavin put it in 0-1 from a short distance just to the right of Aleksandr Kovalev. FC Zenit S-Pb's Aleksandr Kovalev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Filipp Stoyanovskiy in the 7th minute of play. After 8 played minutes FC Zenit S-Pb got a freekick which was hit by Aleksey Frents. The supporters of Samara HC booed when FC Zenit S-Pb was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 9 match minutes in a wonderful position. Artem Strelkov didn't get a good kick on the ball. 10 minutes into the match, Samara HC's Rostislav Arshavin sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Aleksandr Kovalev narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Timofey Daudov kicked well hit freekick during the 13th minute of the match. 13 minutes into the match, Leonid Gamayun sent off a long shot that looked like it was going straight into the goal, but because Fedor Uryupin threw himself in his full length he managed to grip the ball by the left post, and there was no goal for Leonid Gamayun this time. In the 19th minute Filipp Stoyanovskiy shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Aleksandr Kovalev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 24 minutes into the match, Vyacheslav Cherednik had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Fedor Uryupin. Samara HC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Vyacheslav Cherednik was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-1. In the 33rd minute, Filipp Stoyanovskiy 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. 35 minutes into the game, Emmanuil Didkovskiy was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Samara HC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave FC Zenit S-Pb the free kick. In the 35th minute, Emmanuil Didkovskiy hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Vladislav Kumov in the 37th minute of play forced Samara HC's goalkeeper Fedor Uryupin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Fedor Uryupin was out of position in the 44 minute of play, and Vladislav Kumov capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Vladislav Kumov really showed his touch with that goal: 2-2. Aleksey Frents kicked well hit freekick during the 47th minute of the match. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 2-2 after a close first half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Filipp Stoyanovskiy made a kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Filipp Stoyanovskiy in the 54th minute of play forced FC Zenit S-Pb's goalkeeper Aleksandr Kovalev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Aleksandr Kovalev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Filipp Stoyanovskiy, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Rostislav Arshavin came up free with the goalie in the 58th minute, the Samara HC 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 Rostislav Arshavin couldn't finish the play. Vyacheslav Cherednik sent away a hard shot on goal in the 76th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 79 minutes into the match, FC Zenit S-Pb's goalkeeper Aleksandr Kovalev had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Rostislav Arshavin. Filipp Stoyanovskiy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 80th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Aleksandr Kovalev having to interfere. Samara HC's Emmanuil Didkovskiy got his second yellow card of the match in the 83rd minute. The referee ordered Emmanuil Didkovskiy off the ground. After a defensive mix-up in FC Zenit S-Pb's zone, Rostislav Arshavin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Aleksandr Kovalev came out of the goal and Rostislav Arshavin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 88th play minute Rostislav Arshavin came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Aleksandr Kovalev. 2-4. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Samara HC walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.