League

Northampton
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) After 3 minutes of play, Manchester's Roman Pestrov made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Oleg Izyumov was left in no man's land by his defense there! The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Afanasiy Zolotuhin during the 10th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 10th minute, Afanasiy Zolotuhin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Grigoriy Lopuhov hit a great freekick 11 minutes into the match. Manchester's Kirill Chichin got a good chance for a goal in the 12th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Anton Malkov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Yakov Lyabakh, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 18th minute, Daniil Deinekin left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Manchester fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-2. In the 25th minute, Adam Babkin 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. An unexpectedly hard shot by Adam Babkin in the 28th minute of play forced Manchester's goalkeeper Anton Malkov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Lev Vinogradovs short, quick shot in the 29thth minute got Anton Malkov to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Oleg Izyumov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Roman Pestrov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Semen Shumikhin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 34th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Vladislav Gurin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 35th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 37 minutes into the match, Manchester's goal looked a bit too open when Adam Babkin came free, but Anton Malkov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 40th match minute, Manchester was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Timur Nametkin to maneuver through the defense. After a defensive mix-up in Manchester's zone, Vladislav Gurin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Anton Malkov came out of the goal and Vladislav Gurin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After a rather tough play, Manchester's Artem Evdoshenko got a free kick in the 43rd minute. In the 45th minute, Kirill Chichin ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Oleg Izyumov was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-3. After the first half Manchester were leading 1-3. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Roman Pestrov to make the kick off. After 51 minutes, Egor Zhelezov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Manchester and the Northampton players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 51st minute, Egor Zhelezov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Roman Pestrov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 55th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Vladislav Gurin might have been able to make a better finish in the 57th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Anton Malkov. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Vladislav Gurin ran back to his position shaking his head. Kirill Chichin could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 59th minute of the match, but Oleg Izyumov made a huge save. If Adam Babkin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 60th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Vladislav Gurin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 75th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Yakov Lyabakh lost his temper 78 minutes into the game and shoved another player to the ground. He was immediately shown a red card. In a very dangerous position, a player in Northampton fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 78th minute. Penalty! In the 80th minute there was a penalty for Manchester. Panteleimon Scherbatov stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Oleg Izyumov. 1-4. In the 83rd minute, Semen Shumikhin ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Oleg Izyumov was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-5. Oleg Izyumov made an important save on a dangerous shot by Kirill Chichin in the 87th minute. If Adam Babkin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 90th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. After 90 played minutes Manchester got a freekick which was hit by Semen Shumikhin. After having played for 93 minutes, Egor Zhelezov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Manchester's supporters crossed their fingers, but Egor Zhelezov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After 96 played minutes, Manchester's Timur Nametkin shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Oleg Izyumov came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Manchester reached it. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Manchester had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.