Regular Season - 18
Ekibastuz saw off Zhyaisk 3:1 on Thursday in the First Division, the hosts claiming all three points at home. The result keeps Ekibastuz in eighth with 26 points, while Zhyaisk remain fifth on 30 after 21 games each.
M. Baurzhan broke the deadlock in the 24th minute, and K. Yakudi doubled the lead shortly after in the 33rd. The game looked settled until A. Mukhit pulled one back in the 90th minute, then N. Al Khadzh struck again three minutes into stoppage time. By then the damage was done.
To be fair, Ekibastuz have not been the prettiest side this season. They lost 0:3 to Kaspii Aktai 2 and 0:2 to Shakhtyor Karaganda in July, but they picked up a clean 2:0 win over Aktobe Zhas last week. Things came to a head against Zhyaisk, and they found a way.
Zhyaisk had won two and drawn one in their last three before this, including a 2:0 over Taraz and a 2:2 with Sport Akademiiy Kairat. They fancy their chances in the top five, but they gave away too many cheap fouls in the final minutes and paid for it.
The table goes out of the window in these games. Ekibastuz needed something to change the mood, and three quick goals in stoppage time did exactly that. The line has barely moved, but the feeling around the ground shifted.