National cup

National Stadium
Spectators: 10302 (Terracing: 7727, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 Russia's Modest Pushkin started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. 4 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Lino Bogdanović had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Yakov Lvov. Kirill Blindarev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Filip Marinović, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Lino Bogdanović made a fantastic save in the 7th minute, when Modest Pushkin sent off a good shot on target. In the 11th minute Modest Pushkin shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lino Bogdanović saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Modest Pushkin took the ball and in the 12 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Lino Bogdanović. Lino Bogdanović dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-0. In the 17th minute Filip Marinović shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Kirill Blindarev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 18 played minutes U21 Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Vjeran Sedlar. Jakov Mata sent away a hard shot on goal in the 22nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 24th minute, Yakov Lvov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Filip Marinović in the 25th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Kirill Blindarev saved U21 Russia from getting behind. After a rather tough play, U21 Russia's Grigoriy Kopeischikov got a free kick in the 29th minute. Kirill Blindarev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vedran Perendija in the 31st minute of the match. Kirill Blindarev didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Vedran Perendija went, in the 31st minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. U21 Russia's Kirill Blindarev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Filip Marinović in the 34th minute of play. Lino Bogdanović took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Modest Pushkin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The crowd rose to their feet as Yakov Lvov kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Lino Bogdanović. That made the score 2-1 in the 36 minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Zinoviy Konstantinovskiy in the 41st minute of play forced U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Lino Bogdanović to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Lino Bogdanović made a fantastic save in the 44th minute, when Modest Pushkin sent off a good shot on target. Lino Bogdanović made a fantastic save in the 44th minute, when Modest Pushkin sent off a good shot on target. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Vedran Perendija in the 47th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Kirill Blindarev prevented the ball from getting in the gole. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-1 at half-time.

With an all-out effort, U21 Croatia's Kirill Blindarev threw himself towards the right post 51 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Jakov Mata, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Saša Opašić's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Kirill Blindarev read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 52nd minute of play. Yakov Lvov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 58th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Lino Bogdanović having to interfere. U21 Russia's Elisey Apollonov was substituted for Modest Pushkin. 62 minutes into the match, Ostap Romanov notched a goal, 3-1, to the right of U21 Croatia's Lino Bogdanović. Lino Bogdanović was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. U21 Croatia's Vanja Hinić was substituted for Jakov Mata. U21 Russia's Panteleimon Chernenko was substituted for Semen Repnikov. In the 70th minute Yakov Lvov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lino Bogdanović saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Yakov Lvov in the 76th minute of play forced U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Lino Bogdanović to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Vjeran Sedlar fell near the penalty area in the 79th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 Croatia's protests and gave Vjeran Sedlar a yellow card for diving instead. In a very dangerous position, a player in U21 Croatia fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 78th minute. Penalty! Kirill Blindarev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Držislav Šeput, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Zinoviy Konstantinovskiy during the 88th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Kirill Blindarev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vanja Hinić, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The supporters of U21 Russia booed when U21 Croatia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 90 match minutes in a wonderful position. Saša Opašić didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 96th minute, Yakov Lvov got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal.