Kostanay's Tobol secured a comeback victory over Kyzylorda's Kaisar 3:2 in a rescheduled match of the 21st round of the Kazakhstan Premier League, reports infohub.kz.
The match, held on August 25, was Tobol's first after Islam Chesnokov's transfer to Samara's Krylia Sovetov. Captain Askhat Tagybergen provided two assists, ensuring the team's success.
Already in the 4th minute, Tagybergen delivered a corner to Maksim Myakish, and the Belarusian defender opened the scoring with a precise strike. In the 27th minute, the captain again delivered a cross, this time Aleksandr Marochkin finished the move with a goal. However, the linesman initially flagged offside, but after VAR intervention, referee Sayat Karabaev counted the goal.
Between these goals, Kaisar managed to equalize: Aliyar Mukhamed scored in the 13th minute. Early in the second half, Mukhamed completed a brace, finishing a cross from Niyaz Idrisov from a corner, putting the visitors ahead 2:2. Notably, Idrisov also assisted Mukhamed's first goal.
In the 70th minute, Tobol's Serbian legionnaire Uros Milovanovic converted a penalty awarded for a handball by Idrisov. VAR confirmed the decision. In the closing stages, the referee and video assistants saw no grounds for a penalty in a similar situation in the hosts' favor.
This victory allowed Tobol to rise to seventh place in the standings. Kaisar remained in 13th position, just one point above the relegation zone.
The battle for survival in KPL-2026 promises to be tense. Ahead of the decisive matches, the underdog Irtysh made their third coaching change: 48-year-old Marat Yeslyamov was replaced by 46-year-old Erlan Shoitymov. The previous two changes did not bring results for the Pavlodar club.
The matches of the 23rd round of KPL-2026, scheduled for August 22 and 23, have been postponed indefinitely. The 24th round matches will take place on August 29 and 30.