Scoring margin: how Akhmat kept his registration in the RPL, and Sochi returned to the elite

Akhmat defeated Ural in the return play-off match and retained their place in the RPL. Georgy Melkadze opened the scoring in the 51st minute from the penalty spot, Daniil Zorin increased the advantage of the Grozny team in the 90+2 minute. In the second pair of Sochi, Pari NN was held for the sum of two matches (4:3 for the sum of two games). However, the Nizhny Novgorod club still has a high chance of retaining its registration in the elite division. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Sochi – Paris NN

These joints will definitely go down in history. The non—issuance of the license to Khimki greatly simplified the situation for Pari NN - back on May 28, it became clear that Nizhny Novgorod's place in the RPL was probably not in danger with any outcome of the confrontation with Sochi. All because of the problems of Khimki, who will not play in the Premier League next season. According to the RFU regulations, the Moscow Region team will be replaced by another club by decision of the executive committee, taking into account the opinion of the RPL and the FNL. However, the priority remains with the representatives of the elite league.

So, against the background of the news about the win—win (well, almost - after all, no formal decision has yet been made) situation of Nizhny Novgorod residents, the main intrigue was the performance of Sochi. The Southerners did not have any safety net, and it was necessary to gnaw out a place in the RPL on their own. It is all the more surprising that on the eve of the most important match, the team parted ways with Robert Moreno.

Or rather, that's what the insiders said. The day before the meeting, some media outlets reported his dismissal. Moreno allegedly quarreled with sports director Andrei Orlov during the break of the first play-off match (1:2), and for this he will be dismissed.

It became even more surprising when the ex-coach of the Spanish national team really did not arrive in Nizhny Novgorod for the return game. In addition, two assistants did not come with him.

However, there was an explanation — according to Match TV, the absence of Moreno and his assistants in Sochi was explained by "family circumstances." At the same time, the club did not publicly comment on the situation at all — there were no announcements on social networks on the eve of the match.

Surprisingly, the Spaniard's absence did not hinder the Southerners at all — one might even say it was beneficial when compared with the first match. The start of the meeting was calm and without a clear advantage for one of the teams, but already in the 21st minute Sochi pulled ahead with the efforts of Stuttering. The visitors scored a great corner, and the defender was accurate in finishing.

However, soon the Sochi residents were almost left in the minority: Aberdeen earned a penalty for a violation on Grulev. But after the intervention of the VAR, referee Artem Chistyakov replaced the red card with a yellow one, and the game continued in equal formations.

And in the time added to the first half, the guests earned a penalty, which was converted by Martin Kramaric.

The score of 2:0 was already satisfied with Sochi, but the team left for the break, actually knocking out the Nizhny Novgorod team. Kramarich scored a double, shooting Medvedev's goal, and made a magnificent bid for the Southerners to return to the RPL.

All Paris NN had enough for in the second half was Boselli's penalty goal in the 84th minute. Sochi looked much more confident and calmly held a comfortable score.

1:3 in the return leg, 3:4 in the sum of two meetings — Viktor Goncharenko's team is inferior in the play-off matches, but can stay in the league instead of Khimki. The final decision will be made by the RFU Executive Committee.

"A lot of things didn't work out in our favor in the second leg, including the referees' interpretation of some episodes," Paris NN midfielder Alexander Troshechkin told Izvestia. — I can't say that we didn't tune in to the game. It felt like a reconfiguration. We made technical mistakes that were unusual for us. Let's see what the RFU has to say about who will play instead of Khimki in the RPL next season. The situation with this issue has certainly worsened. It is necessary to specify more clearly in the regulations who should play instead of the team that lost its place in the league due to financial problems. So that around the middle of May, the teams understand who, what, and where.

In the meantime, congratulations to Sochi on their return to the elite — the Southerners played the return game in Nizhny Novgorod at an amazing level.

"I think we played well in the first game," Sochi defender Sergei Terekhov told Izvestia. — It's just that there was a penalty in the first half. It's hard to play a half and a half outnumbered. But overall we played well. And before the second leg, we rallied once again, entered the field with the understanding that we could win. As a result, due to teamwork, team unity and dedication, we managed to achieve a good result.

Khimki experience: the collapse of the Moscow region club confused the situation at the joints

Paris NN does not have to beat Sochi to stay in the RPL, and Akhmat is close to relegation from Ural

Akhmat – Ural

Akhmat played the decisive match of the season against the background of the resignation of Sergei Tashuev, from whom the reins of government passed to his assistant Fedor Shcherbachenko. Compared to the game in Yekaterinburg, he made two substitutions, returning Shelia to the goal and releasing Samorodov from the first minutes. Ural was completely limited to one permutation, and the bet on Ayupov, who strengthened the game in Yekaterinburg in the second half, worked pretty quickly. Only his finishing after Zheleznov hit the bar was not included in the protocol. As on Wednesday, Yegorychev's actions led to the cancellation of the goal. At home, the midfielder violated the rules, and now he got into an offside position and, according to the referees, actively participated in the attack.

And what about "Akhmat"? He seemed to have the ball and the territory in the first half. Sadulaev and Samorodov were active on the flanks. Melkadze tried to come up with something, but the specifics were sorely lacking in the end. But Georgy failed to repeat the number with an effective free kick — this time his powerful blow was taken by the "wall". The reaction of the Grozny team's staff to what was happening on the field was the replacement of Kamilov by Zorin. On paper, this implied a greater emphasis on attack, although it was not possible to restore balance in the sum of the two matches in a positional attack at all.

It all started with Shelia's long pass. Melkadze managed to impose a fight in the air on Filipenko, and already in the penalty area Begich hit Talal, who was ahead of him, on the leg. VAR confirmed the decision, and Melkadze confidently beat Mamin. Moreover, the main thing for Akhmat was not even the numbers on the scoreboard that had changed, but the lightness and sharpness that appeared in the game. The same Melkadze should have at least hit the target after Adamov's flank pass.

In turn, Ural could not offer anything in response for a long time. Except that Yegorychev could have hooked onto the ball and jumped out to the goal, but failed to tame the pass. And if there is a shortage of sharpness at someone else's gate, the pressure on their own defense will increase. As a result, Akhmat saved the season by switching gears at the end. And if Mamin managed to cope with Sadulaev's long-range shot, then Zorin canceled the overtime, to whom Talal rolled the ball, hit exactly into the bottom corner.

An amazing coincidence with the Sochi situation — in the current matches, those who changed coaches after the first matches won.