League

briar thickets
Spectators: 9212 (Terracing: 6911, Seating: 2118, VIP seats: 183) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Semen Rodionov got the match started through his kick off. After some fancy dribbling in the 3rd minute, Göktürk Canfeda managed to get in a good position for a shot. Esperance's supporters rose to their feet, but Göktürk Canfeda was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Igor Brattsov breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Igor Brattsov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Göktürk Canfeda, who was totally free with the ball in the 4th minute. The audience was convinced that Gleb Elkibaev's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Igor Brattsov was relentless in the 5th minute of the game. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Gleb Elkibaev in the 6th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Igor Brattsov prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After 8 minutes Apatit Kirovsk FC's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Vadim Vatagin who took care of the corner kick. After a rather tough play, Apatit Kirovsk FC's Leif Hammarberg got a free kick in the 10th minute. When the match clock showed 13 minutes, the score became 0-1 when Gleb Sorokin sped through Apatit Kirovsk FC's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Igor Brattsov. After having played for 18 minutes, Gleb Elkibaev managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Esperance's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gleb Elkibaev was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Igor Brattsov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gleb Sorokin in the 20th minute of the match. If Gleb Sorokin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 21st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 23rd minute, Feliks Maziarski hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Gleb Elkibaev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Igor Brattsov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gleb Sorokin in the 25th minute of play. When Esperance's Gleb Elkibaev in the 27th minute got a chance for a shot 27th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Apatit Kirovsk FC's goalie prevented a goal. When the match had gone on for 29 minutes, Gleb Sorokin put it in 0-2 from a short distance just to the right of Igor Brattsov. In the 31st minute, Maksimilian Stolyarov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Leon Zdrojowy was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 32nd minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from Emil Mikhailov. Igor Brattsov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gleb Elkibaev, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 41st minute the ball was on its way in behind Apatit Kirovsk FC's goalkeeper Igor Brattsov, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 42nd minute, Göktürk Canfeda left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Esperance fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-3. Gleb Sorokin's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Igor Brattsov read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 46th minute of play. In the 47th minute Gleb Elkibaev shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Igor Brattsov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-3 lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Gleb Sorokin was the one to do the kick off. Apatit Kirovsk FC's Igor Brattsov proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 51st minute of the match, managed to save Apatit Kirovsk FC from getting a goal against them. If Göktürk Canfeda had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 52nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Gleb Sorokin in the 54thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Igor Brattsov, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. The supporters of Esperance booed when Apatit Kirovsk FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 55 match minutes in a wonderful position. Witold Orling didn't get a good kick on the ball. Igor Brattsov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gleb Elkibaev, who was totally free with the ball in the 60th minute. Gleb Elkibaev did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 0-5 to the left of a surprised Igor Brattsov 63 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gleb Sorokin in the 68th minute of play forced Apatit Kirovsk FC's goalkeeper Igor Brattsov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 69th match minute, Apatit Kirovsk FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Innokentiy Balaban to maneuver through the defense. When Gleb Elkibaev came up free with the goalie in the 72nd minute, the Esperance 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 Gleb Elkibaev couldn't finish the play. Esperance's Marat Markov was substituted for Göktürk Canfeda. Igor Brattsov was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Gleb Elkibaev showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 0-6 in the 76 minute of play. In the 82nd minute Nikolay Adabir shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Igor Brattsov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gavriil Dolgachev in the 88th minute of play forced Apatit Kirovsk FC's goalkeeper Igor Brattsov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Oskar Siöman charged in rather forcefully in the 92nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Oskar Siöman the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Oskar Siöman kicked well hit freekick during the 92nd minute of the match. In the 94th minute the ball was on its way in behind Esperance's goalkeeper Leon Zdrojowy, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar.