Marked for Igor Shestakov
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Vsevolod Yeliseev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilja Salnikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
He is 22 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Igor Shestakov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Luki-Energiya.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Luki-Energiya.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasily Lunev, and the manager let it.
The dugout28 Dec 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Lev Ushakhin knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Luki-Energiya, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
The match ball belongs to Yegor Pankov, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Market19 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Luki-Energiya they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ilja Salnikov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match17 Oct 2026
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Luki-Energiya and Irkutsk in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match17 Oct 2026
It finished 4‑2, and it was Yegor Pankov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Luki-Energiya.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Yegor Pankov at his very best
Marked 9.39. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Luki-Energiya.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Galimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
He is 21 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Luki-Energiya asked and Lokomotiv Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Galimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Luki-Energiya this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lev Ushakhin, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Nikita Aliyev chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Match15 Aug 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Tver defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Looking ahead17 Aug 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zvezda in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A first senior shirt for Lev Kozlov
Every debut is a small story about the future: Lev Kozlov, 14 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.