Ordabasy ease to victory over Altay in Almaty
Ordabasy secured a comfortable 3-1 win against Altay in the 22nd round of the Premier League on Friday evening. The hosts opened the scoring inside the first five minutes and never really looked back. By then, the pattern of the match was already clear enough.
S. Maliy gave the home side the lead in the fourth minute, a quick strike that caught the visitors unprepared. B. Johnsen doubled the advantage just before half-time, and he would add a penalty in the 86th minute after I. Dadaev had restored a two-goal cushion in the 69th. And here's the thing: Ordabasy's third goal came from a substitute who had only been on the pitch for three minutes.
The game was punctuated by a steady stream of bookings rather than drama. N. Jambor and Z. Amir saw yellow cards before the interval, while S. Astanov, G. Kan, E. Astanov, G. Kilama, D. Dodev and A. Nurymbet all picked up cautions after the break. T. Keita was the last to be booked on the hour marker. To be fair, the cards did not disrupt the flow of play.
Coaching changes were concentrated around the hour. Leo Natel replaced E. Astanov, Z. Kukeev came on for G. Kan, G. Kilama was withdrawn, I. Dadaev was taken off after his goal, and Z. Amir was substituted for M. Capatina. The manager was looking for freshness, particularly after the penalty had settled the contest.
Ordabasy dominated possession at 56 per cent and registered 63 attacks to Altay's 56. The home side fired 15 shots with only four on target, while the visitors were more efficient, hitting 44 per cent accuracy from their 10 attempts. Both sides won four corners, and the match produced 13 and 11 free kicks respectively.
The result extends Ordabasy's winning streak to three matches, following victories over Zhetysu and Tobol. Altay's run of poor form continues, with defeats at the hands of Okzhteps, Astana and Aktobe in their previous outings. The hosts remain top of the table with 55 points from 24 games, while Altay sit 16th with 20.
What matters most is the gap between the two sides. Ordabasy need the points badly to protect their position, and they showed the composure to see out the game after the penalty had given them breathing room. Altay have a mountain to climb if they want to avoid the drop.