Almaz beat Metallurg Cherepovec 4:1 in a club friendly match on Sunday in Cherepovets. The result ended a run of poor form for the hosts and brought a halt to Metallurg Cherepovec's recent winning streak. To be fair, the visitors had been in fine shape before coming to face Almaz, while the home side had been searching for consistency.
Almaz had not won in their previous four matches before this encounter. They lost 2:3 to Sakhalinskie Akuly, then 2:3 to Kapitan, followed by heavy defeats against Lokomotiv and Dynamo Moscow. By then, the pressure must have been building after that fourth straight loss.
Metallurg Cherepovec arrived with momentum on their side. They had beaten Granit three times in quick succession with scores of 5:1, 4:3 and 6:1, then lost narrowly to MХК Ryazan 3:2. Their most recent outing saw them fall 1:6 to Lokomotiv-76 on Saturday, but this time they found themselves on the receiving end of a more comprehensive defeat.
The match itself played out with Almaz taking control early and never looking back. They turned it around after the break, scoring goals at regular intervals to put the result beyond doubt. Metallurg Cherepovec could only respond with a single consolation goal, unable to match the visitors' intensity or composure.
What this means for both sides remains to be seen. Almaz can take confidence from a performance that showed genuine improvement, while Metallurg Cherepovec will need to regroup after a result that did not reflect their recent form. The friendly provided a useful test for both teams ahead of the season.