League Play-Off

Stadion Syktyvkar
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Salavat's Andrey Eremin 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 a rather tough play, Salavat's Andrey Eremin got a free kick in the 3rd minute. In the 5th minute of the match Stanislav Devyatkin sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Egor Belyakov skillfully saved the ball. In the 7th minute, Anton Osipov 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. Nikolay Yakovlev fired away a difficult shot at goal in the 11th minute. He almost succeeded, but the ball went over. It was a very nice shot. Andrey Eremin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Yuriy Ovchinnikov charged in rather forcefully in the 21st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Yuriy Ovchinnikov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Yuriy Ovchinnikov hit a great freekick 21 minutes into the match. Anton Osipov fired away a difficult shot at goal in the 26th minute. He almost succeeded, but the ball went over. It was a very nice shot. Anton Osipov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 31st minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Vyacheslav Kapustin 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. After a defensive mix-up in Syktyvkar HC's zone, Nikolay Yakovlev stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Innokentiy Perov came out of the goal and Nikolay Yakovlev tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Egor Belyakov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Anton Osipov in the 45th minute of play. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Vyacheslav Kapustin to strike the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Anton Osipov in the 55th minute of play forced Salavat's goalkeeper Egor Belyakov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 57th minute of the match Syktyvkar HC got a corner. Salavat's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Konstantin Doronin ran over to the corner to take the kick. Innokentiy Perov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Andrey Eremin, who was totally free with the ball in the 59th minute. If Anton Osipov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 63rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 65 minutes of play, Syktyvkar HC's Vyacheslav Kapustin made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Egor Belyakov was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 69th minute, Anton Osipov ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Egor Belyakov was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-0. Egor Belyakov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Vyacheslav Kapustin, who was totally free with the ball in the 73rd minute. When Anton Osipov came up free with the goalie in the 74th minute, the Syktyvkar 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 Anton Osipov couldn't finish the play. After having played for 77 minutes, Anton Osipov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Syktyvkar HC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Anton Osipov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After a rather tough play, Syktyvkar HC's Erast Kazakov got a free kick in the 81st minute. When Vyacheslav Kapustin fell near the penalty area in the 85th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Syktyvkar HC's protests and gave Vyacheslav Kapustin a yellow card for diving instead. Salavat's Andrey Eremin has a good shot, but didn't show it this time. The shot went over the crossbar in the 87th minute. The excitement rose when Salavat's Nikolay Yakovlev after 90 played minutes turned away three defenders near the goal, and after that shot a ball that was too difficult for Syktyvkar HC's goalkeeper to hold. Score! 2-1. The audience thought a goal was coming when Andrey Eremin got free with Innokentiy Perov in the 94th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Syktyvkar HC's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.