FC 10 edged Dynamo Saint Petersburg 2:1 in the Cup's Regions Path second round on Monday. The result lifts the hosts into the next stage after a hard-fought ninety minutes. To be fair, the match could have gone either way until the final moments.
And here's the thing about first-half chances — they tend to come and go without much consequence. Masalov broke the deadlock in the forty-fourth minute, putting the hosts ahead before the interval. The visitors looked uncomfortable but refused to fold entirely.
Gainullin equalised in the sixty-sixth, a moment that shifted the tempo considerably. Suddenly the game opened up, both sides searching for a winner. By then, the crowd had grown restless, sensing something decisive was coming.
Ezhkov turned the tie on its head in the ninety-fourth minute. A late finish that sent the home end into celebration while the away players stood frozen. It was one of those three or four moments that decide matches, nothing more and nothing less.
The hosts arrive in better shape than their guests. They beat Kosmos Dolgoprudny 3:2 in their last outing, while Dynamo have struggled — a 1:3 defeat to Makhachkala and a 0:1 loss to Dynamo Vologda among their recent results. The gap in form showed through, even if the scoreline was tight.