League Play-Off

Stadion Novomoskovsk
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. Roman Gorshkalev started the match with the kick off. Fedosey Makarov hit a great freekick 2 minutes into the match. Aleksandr Nogtev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 3rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Roman Gorshkalev came up free with the goalie in the 4th minute, the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 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 Roman Gorshkalev couldn't finish the play. After having played for 9 minutes, Valentin Nikulin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Novomoskovsk FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Valentin Nikulin 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 little luck, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's Vladimir Kuzmin got control of the ball when Maksim Pakulin tried to sneak it across the goal line. Sergey Yakhontov hit a great freekick 22 minutes into the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Valentin Nikulin in the 25th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Vladimir Kuzmin saved Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk from getting behind. A collision led to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk getting a freekick after 25 minutes play. Danila Petrunyak hit a great ball. The supporters of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk booed when Novomoskovsk FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 28 match minutes in a wonderful position. Fedosey Makarov didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 30 minutes, Vyacheslav Goliusov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Novomoskovsk FC and the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk players grew even worse after the yellow card. Vyacheslav Goliusov hit a great freekick 30 minutes into the match. After recieving a nice pass, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's Yakov Prudkov tried to score from far away in the 31st minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. Novomoskovsk FC's Anatoliy Gorlukovich played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Roman Gorshkalev in the 33rd minute of play. Aleksandr Nogtev fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 39th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Anatoliy Gorlukovich having to interfere. Maksim Pakulin struck a weak shot in the 45th minute. Vladimir Kuzmin didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Novomoskovsk FC. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Valentin Nikulin made a kick off. In the 51st minute, Valentin Nikulin left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Novomoskovsk FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-0. In the 54th minute Maksim Pakulin shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Vladimir Kuzmin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 57 minutes into the match, Sergey Yakhontov had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Anatoliy Gorlukovich. Novomoskovsk FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Sergey Yakhontov was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-1. After a rather tough play, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's Sergey Yakhontov got a free kick in the 59th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Valentin Nikulin in the 60th minute of play forced Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's goalkeeper Vladimir Kuzmin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 61 minutes of play, Novomoskovsk FC's Maksim Pakulin made it 2-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Vladimir Kuzmin was left in no man's land by his defense there! Vladimir Kuzmin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Maksim Pakulin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a defensive mix-up in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's zone, Valentin Nikulin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Vladimir Kuzmin came out of the goal and Valentin Nikulin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. When the match clock showed 78 minutes, the score became 3-1 when Valentin Nikulin sped through Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Vladimir Kuzmin. 83 minutes into the match, Valentin Nikulin had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Vladimir Kuzmin. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Valentin Nikulin was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-1. After having played for 87 minutes, Valentin Nikulin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Novomoskovsk FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Valentin Nikulin was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Maksim Pakulin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 90th minute. Vladimir Kuzmin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Maksim Pakulin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 92nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 94 minutes into the match, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk's goal looked a bit too open when Valentin Nikulin came free, but Vladimir Kuzmin reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Novomoskovsk FC had won after a very even match.