Unlike the Premier League, in the First League, the autumn part of the season ended a few days ago. The teams played their last matches in the 20th round of the championship and went to rest, but 25 players had to postpone their vacation a little. And all for the sake of the meeting between the teams of the FNL and the Media League - another series of confrontations between the two championships, which began to be especially widely discussed after the clashes between their representatives in the Russian Cup.
At the same time, interest in the match began to heat up long before it took place. For a couple of months, not only the rosters of both teams were discussed, but also the candidates for the post of head coaches. CSKA legend Dmitry Kuznetsov, now the head of 2DROTS, was considered for the position of coach of the Media League team, and Khimki helmsman Andrey Talalaev was considered for the position of FNL coach, but it did not work out. As a result, a trio of specialists represented by Igor Zvezdin, Shamil Kurbanov and Alan Gatagov was entrusted with the leadership of the media team, and Evgeny Kaleshin was entrusted with the rivals. And it was extremely unexpected, because at the time of the meeting, he was no longer working for Akron.
Perhaps, in this way, the organizers wanted to create an additional stir once again. A day before the start of the game, the same Kaleshin and the general manager of the Media League Kamil Hajiyev held a semblance of a battle of views, but the references to MMA did not end there. The start of the match at the Anji Arena was preceded by the performance of the song "Dagestan", known to all fans of Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the introduction of the opponents resembled the announcement of the participants in the fight in mixed martial arts. However, the announced appearance of UFC champion Islam Makhachev did not take place. But he had not only to make a symbolic blow before the starting whistle, but also to take part in a shootout (a mixture of football penalties and hockey shootouts), which were planned regardless of the outcome.
Thus, at the end of the match, three results should have been recorded at once. In addition to the classic score, there was also an alternative score, and points were awarded for completing certain tasks. They could be earned for 12 accurate passes in a row, beautiful feints, throwing the ball between the opponent's legs, heel play, spectacular actions, long-range shots on target and colorful goal celebrations.
It is noteworthy that the start of the FNL for this confrontation was determined not by Kaleshin, but by the fans. And as the first minutes showed, they were not mistaken with their choice. After all, already in the 3rd minute, Serder Serderov opened the scoring, punishing the opponents for a gross mistake near their own goal. The counter-pressing worked perfectly, and the Dynamo Makhachkala midfielder easily dealt with the goalkeeper.
In general, the first half was dictated by the FNL national team. Perhaps the opponents lacked the representatives of 2DROTS, who boycotted the match, but the media players had almost no chances to score. The only thing we can remember is Ilya Gilyazutdinov's breakthrough to the goal. But already in the seventh minute, the first brawl took place. Shamil Saaduyev quarreled with Mushfig Rzayev, and both received a yellow card as a punishment.
In the first 30 minutes, the FNL team was better both on the field as a whole and in the execution of challenges. Three spectacular actions allowed Kaleshin's wards to score three points, while the opponents had only two in the asset - Sergey Kharlamov scored a long-range shot on target. The mood of the media team was also overshadowed by the fact that at the very end the referee did not send off Said Aliyev from the field. He slightly butted Evgeny Pleshko, but was not punished even with a yellow card. The reason for this is the regulations - after a video review, only the presentation of a red signal is allowed.
With the exception of a small burst of activity at the start, the Media League team showed almost nothing in the second half. With the appearance of substitutes on the field, the superiority of the FNL team became overwhelming, even if it could not distinguish itself for a long time. Although there were chances. The referee pointed to the spot twice, but later reversed his decision. Moreover, in both cases, substitutes Alexander Gagloev and Abu-Said Eldarushev appeared on the pitch.
The mood of the professional players was not knocked down by the mass brawl, which flared up largely thanks to the coach of the MFL team Alan Gatagov. It was started by Alan Bagaev and Pavel Deobald, but it was the involvement of a specialist in the incident that almost led to a physical attack. However, the refereeing team managed to calm both sides.
Kaleshin's men continued to dominate and in just seven minutes twice upset Ivan Zirikov, whose dedication and fantastic saves helped keep the intrigue alive. A brace was scored by 42-year-old Eldar Nizamutdinov, who defends the colors of Shinnik. Two minutes before the end of regular time, Dmitry Shadrintsev put an end to it, shooting the goalkeeper from outside the penalty area.
Thus, in regular time, the FNL national team defeated the opponent in all respects. The classic score was 4-0, and the alternative score was 24-17. The professionals did not allow the opponents to cheer up in the shootout either. They responded to Gagloev's mocking panenka and accurate shots by Butta Magomedov and Valentin Paltsev with only two goals – 3:2.