Match Report
On paper the standings were lopsided — Chelyabinsk 4th with 59 points, Volna Kovernino 9th with 35, 24 apart. Volna Kovernino had been under-performing their position — 47th on five-round form against 9th in the table. Scoring rates set the scale: Chelyabinsk 2.21 scored and 0.79 conceded per game, Volna Kovernino 1.14 and 1.39, with the league averaging 1.47.
The referee was R. Ziyakov, with 55 matches in our database and 1.1 yellows per game on average. The venue was Stadion Central'nyj in Chelyabinsk, with room for 15,000 spectators. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 1-1 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 3-1.