League Play-Off

Stadion Nizhny Novgo
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Saveliy Zavalishin took the kick off in the first half of the match. Oleg Dolgopyatov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ernest Zhendarov in the 4th minute of the match. Nikita Dubitskiy kicked well hit freekick during the 7th minute of the match. After 8 minutes, Ernest Zhendarov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Makhachkala and the Nizhny Novgorod FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 8th match minute, Makhachkala was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ernest Zhendarov to maneuver through the defense. Nizhny Novgorod FC's Oleg Dolgopyatov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ernest Zhendarov in the 10th minute of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Gleb Eliseev in the 11th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Oleg Dolgopyatov prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Ernest Zhendarov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Oleg Dolgopyatov having to interfere. The supporters of Makhachkala booed when Nizhny Novgorod FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 13 match minutes in a wonderful position. Vladimir Medved didn't get a good kick on the ball. Gleb Eliseev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 15th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Ernest Zhendarov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 19th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 22nd minute, Klim Bulatov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. A collision led to Nizhny Novgorod FC getting a freekick after 24 minutes play. Nikita Dubitskiy hit a great ball. In the game's 29th minute Makhachkala's Roman Androsik took a hard shot from long distance, a kick which went into the net just to the right of Oleg Dolgopyatov and thus the score was 0-1. Gleb Eliseev received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 34th minute. Oleg Dolgopyatov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Makhachkala's zone, Yuriy Pegeev stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Mikhail Gurev came out of the goal and Yuriy Pegeev tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Yuriy Pegeev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Ernest Zhendarov to make the kick off. Gleb Eliseev fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 52nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Oleg Dolgopyatov having to interfere. Yuriy Pegeev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 58th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. After a defensive mix-up in Makhachkala's zone, Saveliy Zavalishin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Mikhail Gurev came out of the goal and Saveliy Zavalishin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Mikhail Gurev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Yuriy Pegeev in the 63rd minute of play. Nizhny Novgorod FC's Yuriy Pegeev got a good chance for a goal in the 66th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 67th minute Yuriy Pegeev shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Mikhail Gurev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Nikita Dubitskiy hit a great freekick 68 minutes into the match. Mikhail Gurev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Saveliy Zavalishin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 76th minute, Artur Chernomazov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Ernest Zhendarov in the 82nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Oleg Dolgopyatov saved Nizhny Novgorod FC from getting behind. Ernest Zhendarov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 90th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Oleg Dolgopyatov having to interfere. The final whistle blew with the score still tied, and both teams left the pitch thinking about the missed chances that could have given their team the win.