Marked for Rustam Asenchukov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Kirill Cheburakov takes the afternoon — 8.67
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Kirill Cheburakov provided it, and the 8.67 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match29 Aug 2026
Sochi 2 made Rostov 2 work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market31 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Eyad El Askalany again, and this time the name on the line is Kuban Holding. Rostov 2 are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrey Amosov, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Chances created: 11. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Kirill Cheburakov, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Rostov 2 would like this to lead.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 7.79 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Rostov 2
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladimir Kasparyan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 Aug 2026
Late, late show earns Rostov 2 a point
Minute 95, against Rubin Yalta, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match22 Aug 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Rostov 2 have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Danil Ryazanov and Rostov 2 agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Rostov 2
Danil Ryazanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Rostov 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimir Kasparyan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match1 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Andrey Preobrazhensky left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.