El Imei Semey saw off Irtysh 3-1 in a Premier League fixture that stretched into stoppage time. The result keeps the hosts in sixth place while the visitors remain rooted to fourteenth. It was a match decided by moments rather than sustained pressure, with the final third proving decisive.
By then, both sides had been tussling without much to show for it. The hosts started brighter, earning a corner early on, but it wasn't until the seventieth minute that the deadlock broke. Ivan Sviridov rose to meet a delivery and gave El Imei the lead, ending a barren spell for his side.
And here's the thing about this game — it was Irtysh who gave their fans something to cheer about in the eightieth minute. Akhmat Bakhtiyarov struck to level matters, though the celebration was cut short by a calamity on the other side of the pitch. The home side turned it around after the break, giving the full-backs a torrid evening.
Then came the moment that changed everything. Eighty-eight minutes in, M. Mittendorfer turned his back and hit his own net. Or so it was recorded, though the details remain unclear. Either way, El Imei were ahead again and Irtysh had nothing to lose. They pushed forward, but the visitors' red card — Mamadou Mbodj sent off in the eighty-second minute — meant they could rarely sustain pressure.
Statistics tell a partial story here. El Imei dominated possession at 56 per cent and registered eight shots on target compared to four. Yet both sides recorded perfect shot accuracy, which suggests chances were scarce but clinical when they came. The visitors earned fewer corners and had fewer throw-ins, but their attacks were no fewer in number.
For El Imei, the result means they hold eight points clear of the relegation zone with two matches remaining. Irtysh, meanwhile, sit twenty points adrift of safety and face an uphill battle. The visitors ended a run of three unbeaten games, but this defeat adds weight to their struggles.