League Play-Off

Artem
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) In the 4th minute, Ostap Bogdanov made a precise shot to the right of Ippolit Matov. Artem FC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. In the 8th minute, Irakliy Zelenkin 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. 12 minutes into the game, Khabarovsk FC's Artur Sosnihin nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Ippolit Matov made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-2. Aleksey Steklov charged in rather forcefully in the 15th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Aleksey Steklov the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 15th match minute, Khabarovsk FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Aleksey Steklov to maneuver through the defense. Irakliy Zelenkin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 19th minute. Igor Stepashkin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Irakliy Zelenkin did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 1-2 to the left of a surprised Igor Stepashkin 21 minutes into the match. If Irakliy Zelenkin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 29th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 32nd minute, Aleksandr Isakov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ostap Bogdanov in the 33rd minute of play forced Artem FC's goalkeeper Ippolit Matov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After having played for 34 minutes, Irakliy Zelenkin managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Artem FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Irakliy Zelenkin 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, Khabarovsk FC's Fedor Pavlinskiy got a free kick in the 35th minute. When the match had gone on for 37 minutes, Irakliy Zelenkin took a quick shot and it went in 2-2 without a chance for Igor Stepashkin to make any attempt to save it. Artur Sosnihin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 42nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ippolit Matov having to interfere. After 43 played minutes Artem FC got a freekick which was hit by Aleksandr Isakov. Khabarovsk FC were awarded a corner in the 47th minute after Artem FC's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Mikhail Rybakov took the corner. Mikhail Rybakov made a great header on Khabarovsk FC's corner, it was just that Artem FC's Ippolit Matov managed to reach the ball for a save. Ippolit Matov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ostap Bogdanov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Irakliy Zelenkin to strike the kick off in the second half. Igor Stepashkin made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Irakliy Zelenkin in the 54th minute of play. In a very dangerous position, a player in Khabarovsk FC fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 56th minute. Penalty! Sergey Menshov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 63rd minute. Igor Stepashkin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Irakliy Zelenkin in the 64th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Igor Stepashkin prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 66th minute, Ostap Bogdanov left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Khabarovsk FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-3. Artur Sosnihin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 71st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ippolit Matov having to interfere. After 76 minutes, Fedor Pavlinskiy mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Khabarovsk FC and the Artem FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. The supporters of Artem FC booed when Khabarovsk FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 76 match minutes in a wonderful position. Fedor Pavlinskiy didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 79thth minute of the game Sergey Menshov who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Khabarovsk FC's Igor Stepashkin was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Igor Stepashkin came out of the goal in the 80th minute to try and stop a shot by Artem FC's Irakliy Zelenkin. But to his dismay, Irakliy Zelenkin quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 4-3. Sergey Menshov recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 85th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 93 minutes into the match, Artem FC's goal looked a bit too open when Artur Sosnihin came free, but Ippolit Matov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 96 minutes into the match, Sergey Menshov had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Igor Stepashkin. Khabarovsk FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Sergey Menshov was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 5-4. Artem FC's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.