League Play-Off

Vologda
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Afanasiy Tomnikov made the kick off and thus started the match. Evgeniy Bure fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 5th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nikolay Serezhin having to interfere. 9 minutes in the game, Aleksandr Kononov fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Viktor Kan having to interfere. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Marat Belov during the 11th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Kurgan getting a freekick after 12 minutes play. Marat Belov hit a great ball. A well-hit corner resulted in Vasiliy Menchukov heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. After some fancy dribbling in the 17th minute, Nikolay Smirenskiy managed to get in a good position for a shot. Kurgan's supporters rose to their feet, but Nikolay Smirenskiy was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nikolay Serezhin breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After 19 minutes of play, Kurgan's Evgeniy Bure made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Nikolay Serezhin was left in no man's land by his defense there! After some fancy dribbling in the 30th minute, Evgeniy Bure managed to get in a good position for a shot. Kurgan's supporters rose to their feet, but Evgeniy Bure was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nikolay Serezhin breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. With a little luck, Kurgan's Viktor Kan got control of the ball when Aleksandr Kononov tried to sneak it across the goal line. If Vasiliy Menchukov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 38th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After some fancy dribbling in the 44th minute, Evgeniy Bure managed to get in a good position for a shot. Kurgan's supporters rose to their feet, but Evgeniy Bure was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nikolay Serezhin breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Vasiliy Menchukov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 47th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Viktor Kan having to interfere. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Evgeniy Bure to strike the kick off in the second half. Sergey Kulikov charged in rather forcefully in the 51st minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Sergey Kulikov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. When Fedor Karpov fell near the penalty area in the 53rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Vologda FC's protests and gave Fedor Karpov a yellow card for diving instead. The supporters of Kurgan booed when Vologda FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 53 match minutes in a wonderful position. Fedor Karpov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Viktor Kan took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Afanasiy Tomnikov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Afanasiy Tomnikov blasted a shot towards the goal in the 60th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Viktor Kan having to make a save. Nikolay Smirenskiy fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 63rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nikolay Serezhin having to interfere. After having played for 66 minutes, Evgeniy Bure managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Kurgan's supporters crossed their fingers, but Evgeniy Bure was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Nikolay Smirenskiy received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 70th minute. Nikolay Serezhin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 76th minute Evgeniy Bure shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nikolay Serezhin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Viktor Kan made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Afanasiy Tomnikov in the 78th minute of play. 80 minutes into the match, Vologda FC's goal looked a bit too open when Evgeniy Bure came free, but Nikolay Serezhin reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Evgeniy Bure sent away a hard shot on goal in the 82nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Vyacheslav Sinebuhov's late challenge caught a Kurgan's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Vyacheslav Sinebuhov helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to Vologda FC getting a freekick after 83 minutes play. Vyacheslav Sinebuhov hit a great ball. Evgeniy Bure sent away a hard shot on goal in the 88th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. A hard shot 93 in the game by Nikolay Smirenskiy from a close distance when the talented Nikolay Serezhin managed to make a qualified save. Vologda FC's players were relieved. 95 minutes into the game, Evgeniy Bure recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Nikolay Serezhin. Evgeniy Bure showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 0-2.