Slavutych saw off Kaluga 5-3 in a club friendly on Saturday, adding another chapter to both sides' pre-season preparations. The hosts opened the scoring and never looked back, despite Kaluga's efforts to keep pace. By then, the visitors had already shown they could compete on the biggest stages of their recent fixtures.
Five goals at either end suggests a match where both defences took a back seat. Slavutych's attack found its rhythm early, while Kaluga's reply came through moments of individual quality. And here's the thing — when you see a scoreline like that, it rarely tells the full story of how the game unfolded.
Slavutych arrive in this friendly on the back of five straight matches, winning three and losing two. Their last outing ended 4-1 away to Lokomotiv Orsha, but before that they had beaten Mogilev 4-3 and Novopolotsk 4-2. To be fair, the results show a side finding its feet after a heavy defeat.
Kaluga's recent record cuts both ways. They lost 2-4 to Norilsk in their most recent game, but before that beat Magnitka 3-0 and edged past Lida 5-3. Two losses to Granit in April suggest inconsistency when the season truly begins. By then, these friendlies will matter far less than the results that follow.
The final whistle brought a result that leaves both managers with questions to answer. Slavutych's attack looks dangerous, but their defensive frailty cannot go unnoted. Kaluga showed they can score, yet conceding five in a friendly raises eyebrows. What happens when the fixtures turn real remains the test.