SKA-1946 played out a 2-2 draw against Tayfun in the MHL on Thursday, September 11th at 16:00. The result leaves both sides with their first points of the season after what has been a difficult start for the visitors. And here's the thing about these opening fixtures — they rarely tell you much about where teams will finish.
Ska-1946, sitting seventh on the table, moved off zero points with this draw. They had played two games before this match, recording one win and one loss. Tayfun, meanwhile, came into the game having lost all three of their previous matches, also on zero points. To be fair, neither side had much to celebrate from their early campaigns.
The hosts had shown flashes of promise in their recent outings. They beat Avto 2-0 on August 19th and Dynamo Saint Petersburg 5-2 on September 5th, though those victories were sandwiched between a 1-2 loss and a 1-3 defeat to Sakhalin Sharks. It was a pattern of inconsistency that this draw did nothing to resolve.
Tayfun's situation looked more precarious before kick-off. Their three losses came against Dynamo-Shinnik in two separate matches, but they had beaten Krylya Sovetov 5-2 and Stalnye Lisy 3-2 back in August. Those earlier results suggested they were capable, even if the recent run had been harsh.
A share of the points means both teams have something to build on. For SKA-1946 it adds one point to their tally and stops the bleeding after two games. Tayfun finally have a result to show for their third match, and by then you start wondering whether the early season table actually means anything at all.