Oskemen's Altai secured a crucial victory over Kyzylorda's Kaisar on Sunday, September 6, in the 25th round of the Kazakhstan Premier League, reports infohub.kz.
The match, held in Oskemen, was of great importance for both teams, who occupied the second-to-last and last places in the standings before the game. Recall that at the end of the season, the two worst teams in the KPL are relegated, so this derby of underdogs demanded a win for both the hosts and the visitors.
Already in the fifth minute, Altai took the lead: Dragan Stoisavljevic, after a high cross into the box, beat the visiting goalkeeper and headed the ball into the net. That goal remained the only one in the first half, and the home side went into the break with a lead.
After the break, the visitors became more active and tried to equalize, but their attacks were fruitless. The hosts, meanwhile, capitalized on their chance in the 61st minute: Seif Popov, after a long ball and a header from a teammate, burst into the box, beat a defender with a feint, cutting the ball onto his stronger foot, and fired precisely into the corner from 15 meters. That goal proved decisive — Altai won 2-0, reached 22 points, and climbed to 13th place in the standings.
Taldykorgan's Zhetysu also have 22 points, having beaten Pavlodar's Irtysh 1-0 at home on Saturday, September 5. Now the bottom two positions in the KPL are occupied by the clubs from Pavlodar and Kyzylorda, both with 20 points.
In the next round, Altai will face Zhezqazgan's Ulytau on September 13, a team that lost 1-3 to Tobol in Kostanay on Sunday and dropped to eighth place. Zhetysu will travel to Semey on September 12 to play Yelimay, who suffered a heavy defeat to Astana on September 6 and lost any chance of finishing in the top three.
Irtysh will host Kokshetau's Okzhetpes on September 13, a team sitting fourth and just three points behind Astana. Okzhetpes still have hopes of bronze and a spot in the Conference League qualifiers. Kaisar will play at home against Atyrau on September 12, a team with 23 points that has not yet secured its place in the league. Thus, in the next round, Irtysh and Kaisar face the toughest opponents.