In the 21st round of the Kazakhstan Premier League, Astana secured a come-from-behind 2:1 victory over Okzhetpes at home, extending their lead over rivals in the race for bronze medals to eight dropped points, reports infohub.kz.
Before the match, the teams observed a minute of silence in memory of Alexander Lisin, a renowned former footballer who trained the youth in the Astana system.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 20th minute through Ukrainian defender Boris Lototsky. However, before the break, Croatian legionnaires Karlo Bartolec and Marin Tomasov put the hosts ahead. Grigory Babayan's men managed to hold on to the winning score until the final whistle.
In parallel matches, Yelimay from Semey defeated Pavlodar's Irtysh 3:1, Atyrau and Aktobe drew 1:1, Altai and Kyzylzhar played out a 2:2 stalemate, Ordabasy thrashed Zhetysu 4:0, and Kaspiy edged Ulytau 1:0.
Matches involving Kairat and Tobol were postponed due to European commitments, with their new dates to be announced later.
The next round, the 22nd, will take place on August 14-15. On Saturday, Kairat will face Ulytau, Ordabasy will host Altai, Zhenis will play Zhetysu, and Kaisar will meet Aktobe. On Sunday, fans can look forward to Kyzylzhar vs Astana, Atyrau vs Okzhetpes, Irtysh vs Tobol, and Kaspiy vs Yelimay.