Nizhny Novgorod secured a 4-2 win against SKA Khabarovsk in the First League Regular Season round 8 on 24 August 2026. The hosts moved further clear at the summit of the table, while the visitors remain rooted to the bottom after eight games. The result tightened the gap between first and last place considerably.
Vladislav Sarveli opened the scoring after just one minute, catching SKA off their guard. The home side doubled their advantage when Ernest Bliev turned the ball into his own net in the 27th minute. Javir Alcalde pulled one back for SKA on the stroke of half-time, but Yan Gudkov responded almost immediately after the restart. Vladislav Grulev added a fourth for Nizhny in the 47th minute before Nikita Motpan gave SKA a late consolation.
Nizhny Novgorod held 51 per cent possession and registered nine shots on target compared with four for the visitors. The hosts also dominated the set-piece battle with seven corners to five. SKA Khabarovsk saw their game complicated further when Yegor Grebenkin received a red card in the 92nd minute, leaving them with ten men for the final moments.
The victory extends Nizhny Novgorod's winning run to four matches across all competitions. They now sit on 22 points from nine games, with seven wins and only one defeat. SKA Khabarovsk's struggles continue as they remain in 18th place with just a single victory from eight outings.