This is becoming ridiculously tight! 
Five teams in the title chase and not long to go.... YOU CAN DO IT!
Five teams in the title chase and not long to go.... YOU CAN DO IT!
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Russian To The Top?
An average footballers attempt to be an above average manager.
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This is getting tense! Eight games left for you to pounce on the top of the table! I believe in you pal
Match of the Month
We finished the month by taking on top of the table, Terek, who were enjoying a return to form at exactly the right time.
We were no slouches either though & were fresh off a stint on top of the table ourselves.
Unfortunately, on this day, we were thoroughly beaten by the better team, pure & simple. The 1-0 final score perhaps even flattering us.
Nerves definitely played their part, with the side looking extremely fragile at times & players making simple mistakes that, in other circumstances, would be the exception rather then the rule.
Its something I am going to have to keep in mind heading into the final 3 matches. This is unknown territory for a lot of these guys & its important to remind them that, although promotion would be great, they've all done magnificently just to be in the mix!
April Results
So, a good start to the month, with the win over Yenisey actually putting us top of the league! From there though, nerves took over, as the realisation that we were not only in the mix for promotion, but the title itself, proved to be too much for the guys to handle.
Its something that I perhaps should have anticipated but by the time I did, it was too late. Still, a lesson better learnt now than on the final day!
Table
So we stay in 3rd position, although having gone top with just the 5 games to go, that feels like a bit of a let down.
Terek have come back to life in the final stretch & have one hand on the title, while Torpedo Moscow take over in 2nd, continuing the game of musical chairs that the battle for promotion has become.
Stats
Awards
Not much to look at here as Terek & Torpedo Moscow dominate the team of the month whilst Torpedo youngster, IIja Zigulev, wins the player of the month.
May Preview
The final 3 games of the year with everything still to play for! Well, almost everything.
I think the title may well be out of our reach, with a 6 point gap & head to head record now against us, but automatic promotion is still well within our grasp if we are good enough.
Our final 3 games are all against sides fighting relegation, so they'll be determined to win as well, but, if we are truly good enough to go up, they're games we have to win!
I suppose the fact that the teams you face are battling relegation means that they're weaker teams, however you still have to do a job on them! Good luck and I believe you can definitely take 2nd place, possibly even 1st place
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Decent month, shame about the 1-0 loss vs Terek, your team coped with their attack until the last highlight. Your next three games look easy but remember, those teams have something to fight for! So don't play it like it's an easy game! You need to win the promotion and get the title!
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Those final three games wont be as easy as they seem on paper but you are more than capable of doing it!
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Match of the Month
The final game of the year, with everything still on the line. A win would, at least, guarantee us a playoff spot, while a loss, or even a draw, could see us out of the promotion places all together. Baltika need a point to guarantee survival.
As has been the norm of late, we started slowly & our position was made even worse a bodgy penalty decision, although we were actually quite lucky not to concede from open play in the lead up. Never the less, after just 9 minutes, we found ourselves trailing 1-0.
From there we settled into the game nicely, no doubt aided by Baltika's willingness to sit back & defend their lead.
We enjoyed plenty of possession but were finding it hard to break down a determined defence, intent on holding onto what they had. The first half flew by without incident & when the second half looked to be going the same way, I feared it was going to be another year of close but not close enough.
But then, in the 83rd minute, substitute, Dymitri Kortava, beat Baltika's defence with a nice little dummy, strode into the box, kept his cool & drew us level with a well placed shot into the far corner. 1-1 not the score I was hoping for at kick off but after that 90 minutes, I'll take it!
May Results
A disappointing end to what was, for the most part, a fantastic campaign. We topped the table with just 5 games to go but proceeded to take just 2 points from those final 5 to leave our promotion hopes on a knife's edge. An extremely poor end to the year!
Table
Well, well. 2 points from a possible 9 may not sound like much but evidently it was double what Torpedo Moscow & Fakel could muster! Both sides recording just a solitary point in May meaning we hold onto 3rd position behind champions, Terek, & fast finishing, Volgar.
We will now face a 2 legged playoff against Premier Division opposition for a chance to earn promotion!
Stats
So we finish the year with the leagues highest pass completion percentage, which is something I suppose, while, for the second year running, Azamat Gonezhukov earns our highest average rating as well as sharing the lead in our goal scoring charts.
New guys, Yury Lebedev & Brice Zimbori, also feature leading our assists & pass completion categegories respectively.
Awards
Azamat Gonezhukov is joined by Vyacheslav Kirillov in the last team of the month for the year with Terek midfielder, Alexandr Zotov, picking up the final player of the month award.
Premier Division Table
In the top flight, Rubin shock the world (kind of) by beating out Zenit & CSKA in a very tight race for the title with 2 points separating 1st from 3rd.
At the other end, which is of most interest to me, Dinamo Moscow are confirmed as automatically relegated on the final day, a massive relief to me as they would have been a huge challenge in the playoffs.
In the end though its Arsenal Tula & Ural who will enter the dreaded playoffs &, although both sides would be tough, I don't think either will be unbeatable so we're a chance.
2016-05-10 09:42#231290 C.J.Lippo :
Our final match against Volgar was the real killer. We lead that match 2-0, then 3-1, but somehow conspired to throw it away in the final 15 minutes. An unacceptable lapse in concentration that could prove very costly at the end of the day.
Borussia Dortmund, is that you??
Finally caught up, you've made some real progress, good luck in the playoffs!
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Ohh the drama good luck in the playoffs. I have faith
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Not the worst sides you could have met in the Play Offs, progress is well and truly achievable!
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I have full faith that you can win this promotion!
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Once again, we went behind early in this game, conceding from Arsenal Tula's first corner just 53 seconds in! The worst possible start in what was undoubtedly the clubs biggest match to date!
Credit to the boys though as they kept their heads up & wrestled control from the premier division club, enjoying the lions share of possession & keeping Arsenal pinned in their own half.
Eventually our dominance paid off with Azamat Gonezhukov getting on the end of a nice little through ball courtesy of Anton Zabolotny in the 20th. 1-1.
The rest of the half was a real arm wrestle with neither side giving an inch.
With the half approaching & the scores level, I was feeling content. First leg, away match, level at the half, not too bad. I thought.
Just as I was finalising my half time talk however, things got even better as the Arsenal defence failed to put enough pressure on Yury Lebedev. The fullback made them pay, as he had done all year, whipping a cross into the area, which was perfectly read by Zabolotny, who charged onto the ball & buried his shot into the net, leaving little, if any, time for Arsenal to reply. 1-2.
When our 3rd goal, a Lebedev tap in, hit the back of the net shortly after the break I was beginning to dream of Premier Division football & thinking about how to approach the home leg. Arsenal Tula had other idea's though & pulled one back after a spell of dominance that had our defence looking very shaky. 2-3.
From there the nerves set in again as the game hung in the balance & Arsenal flexed their muscle with a little over 15 minutes left on the clock.
We spent most of the final quarter of an hour in our own half as Arsenal pushed for an equaliser & our passing game fell apart under the pressure. Eventually though the final whistle sounded & we'd held on for a vital victory that see's us head back home with a 1 goal advantage!
2-3 the final score with "just" 90 minutes of football now standing between us & the Premier Division!
What a roller coaster ride this game was! We took the lead after 6 minutes, Arsenal drew level after 18 minutes then took the lead, levelling the tie in the process, after 21!
Next it was Vitaliy Ryabusko's turn to score a quickfire double, netting in the 26th minute & adding his second just 10 minutes later to send us to the break with a 3-2 lead in the match & a 6-4 aggregate advantage.
When Azamat Gonezhukov's effort could only be pushed into the back of an Arsenal defender & dribbled over the goal line to give us a 4-2 lead shortly after the break the tie was all but over with our advantage over both legs reaching an insurmountable 3 goals.
Arsenal pulled one goal back with 10 minutes remaining but we were not to be denied, holding on for a 4-3 victory here & a 7-5 aggregate win that will see us competing in the countries premier competition next season!
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