League Play-Off

Stadion Makhachkala
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. Pavel Zaretskiy started the match with the kick off. Makhachkala's Andrey Tsvetkov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Anton Zharov in the 9th minute of play. Anton Zharov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 10th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Pavel Zaretskiy in the 12th minute of play forced Makhachkala's goalkeeper Andrey Tsvetkov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The referee gave Makhachkala a penalty, 19 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Fedor Drozdov, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of HellKnight's Pavel Zuev. 1-0. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Evgeniy Tselko in the 23rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Pavel Zuev prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Fedor Drozdov took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 25th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Pavel Zuev. HellKnight's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Evgeniy Tselko in the 26th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Pavel Zuev saved HellKnight from getting behind. If Evgeniy Tselko had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 28th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. With a little luck, HellKnight's Pavel Zuev got control of the ball when Leonid Melnikov tried to sneak it across the goal line. If Pavel Zaretskiy had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 33rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When Evgeniy Tselko came up free with the goalie in the 36th minute, the Makhachkala 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 Evgeniy Tselko couldn't finish the play. Leonid Melnikov could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 37th minute of the match, but Pavel Zuev made a huge save. A collision led to HellKnight getting a freekick after 38 minutes play. Vladimir Gellershtein hit a great ball. Evgeniy Tselko received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 43rd minute. Pavel Zuev tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Leonid Melnikov could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 45th minute of the match, but Pavel Zuev made a huge save. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

Makhachkala's Andrey Tsvetkov proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 54th minute of the match, managed to save Makhachkala from getting a goal against them. Pavel Zuev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Evgeniy Tselko, who was totally free with the ball in the 56th minute. In the 59th minute, HellKnight's Pavel Zaretskiy dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-1. Vladimir Gellershtein hit a great freekick 64 minutes into the match. The supporters of Makhachkala booed when HellKnight was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 68 match minutes in a wonderful position. Vladimir Gellershtein didn't get a good kick on the ball. Fedor Drozdov was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 69th played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. After 70 minutes, Vladimir Gellershtein mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the HellKnight and the Makhachkala players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 70 played minutes HellKnight got a freekick which was hit by Vladimir Gellershtein. Leonid Melnikov's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Pavel Zuev read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 73rd minute of play. Evgeniy Tselko hit a great freekick 74 minutes into the match. In the 77th match minute, HellKnight was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Vladimir Lazarev to maneuver through the defense. After a rather tough play, HellKnight's Dmitriy Belov got a free kick in the 82nd minute. Leonid Melnikov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 85th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Pavel Zuev having to interfere. Leonid Melnikov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 91st minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. HellKnight's Pavel Zuev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Leonid Melnikov in the 93rd minute of play. In the 94th minute, HellKnight's Pavel Zaretskiy dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-2. The HellKnight players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.