In the 15th round of the Kazakhstan First League football championship, the league leaders secured convincing victories. Almaty's Kairat-Zhastar routed Aktobe-M 4-0 thanks to a brace from Daniyar Tashpulatov, while Karaganda's Shakhter defeated Arys 4-1 with a hat-trick from Artem Litosh, according to the website infohub.kz.
In Aktobe, the match was decided before halftime. Tashpulatov scored a brace, and between his goals, Yevgeny Petrik found the net. Right after the break, Yermukhamad Kerimkhan made it 4-0.
The game in Karaganda was more dramatic. After the visitors took an early lead through Bekzat Mansurov in the 9th minute, the hosts equalized with a precise strike from Dias Kalybayev in the 28th. The second half began with a red card for Arys defender Kazhymukan Kuatbekuly (two yellow cards in four minutes). Shakhter head coach Andrei Finonchenko immediately brought on Artem Litosh, who scored three goals between the 77th and 89th minutes to secure a comeback victory – 4-1.
In other matches of the round, Turan from Turkestan snatched a last-minute win against Tobol-M (2-1) with a goal by Matvey Gerasimov. Elimai-M lost to Taraz 0-1, Akademiya Ontustik beat Astana-M 2-1, Zhaiyk defeated Khan-Tengri (2-0), and Kaspiy-M routed Batyr (3-0).
After 15 rounds, Kairat-Zhastar lead Shakhter by one point. Turan occupy third place. The next round, the 16th, is scheduled for July 30 and 31.