First game, first victory: SKA-Khabarovsk beat Shinnik at home

The match with the Yaroslavl team ended with the score 2:0

To be honest, the Khabarovsk fans were waiting for the first game of this season with some tension. Still, SKA frankly failed the second part of the 2022-2023 season, slipping from fifth place (in the first part) to tenth, thanks for not being in the relegation zone, although there was such a possibility. And even despite the defeat of the Tula “Arsenal” in the final match (6:0), a good gain in the off-season and a very active collection of fears that the army team could let us down still remained.

To the credit of the Red-Blues, they did not disappoint their fans who came to cheer at the Lenin Stadium, the home arena of Khabarovsk SKA. The match turned out to be exciting and most importantly ended with an encouraging score, in a clean sheet. Of course, Shinnik is not the same now as it was under Evseev, but it still remains an opponent with whom it is better not to relax.

From the very first minutes, SKA seized the initiative on the field, preferring to play in the opponent’s half. The guests only occasionally succeeded in sharp counterattacks. The rest of the time, Vladimir Sugrobov, who finally returned to the starting lineup after a serious injury, had to get bored a little. Yaroslavl team had two chances in the first half when they could have scored, but the first time Sugrobov played beyond praise, reflecting a seemingly inevitable goal, and the second time the Khabarovsk team was saved by the post.

But no one could stop the owners. The first goal against Alexander Dovbny, well-known to local fans, was scored by Kirill Nikitin, a recent acquisition of the army team, who at the far post closed the pass of his namesake Andrei Nikitin, who also appeared in the team only since July. The first game of the season, the first for SKA-Khabarovsk, and immediately a goal. An excellent result for a 20-year-old midfielder.

The second ball flew into the goal of “Shinnik” on 51 minutes and Kirill Nikitin scored again. This time he powerfully struck from outside the penalty area, hiding behind the defenders. The goalkeeper of “Shinnik” was able to reach the sword, but failed to stop the projectile. A young midfielder in the opening match of the season chalked up a double.

At the end of the match, the army team gave the initiative to Shinnik, but he did not use the gift. The match ended with the score 2:0 in favor of SKA-Khabarovsk.

I was very pleased that in this match SKA looked very good in attack, having managed not only to impose their game on Shinnik, but also to create some wonderful scoring chances. Let’s see what will happen next. The second match of the new season will also take place in Khabarovsk, and SKA will play with Tyumen, which has recently made it to the First League. The game will take place on July 23rd.

Read also: “SKA-Khabarovsk” began training camp with a defeat. A friendly match with the GOATS team ended with a score of 8:2