Marked for Denis Titow
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match18 Sep 2027
Rostov 2 cannot stop winning
10 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.96 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match18 Sep 2027
Rostov 2 are at home on the road
6 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Rostov 2
David Semenchuk 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.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Rostov 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Cheburakov 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 terraces20 Sep 2027
He is 23 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.
Match18 Sep 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Anton Shamonin. 2‑0 against Druzhba, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Titow, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match4 Sep 2027
Rostov 2 cannot stop winning
8 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Match4 Sep 2027
3‑0, and Anton Shamonin took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Rostov 2 tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rostov 2 can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Anton Shamonin: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rostov 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The match ball belongs to Anton Shamonin, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Match6 Sep 2027
24 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Denis Titow, 20, steals the show — 7.79
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.
Market6 Sep 2027
The name of Anton Shamonin has come up in conversations Rostov 2 were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rostov 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Rostov 2 training over how hard people work
-
The terraces
The crowd has taken to Denis Titow
-
Match
Rostov 2 settle it inside twenty minutes
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match14 Aug 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Pobeda, and it could have been more.
Squad16 Aug 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Marked 8.00 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match14 Aug 2027
Rostov 2 make it 5 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Rostov 2 have 5 straight wins of it.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Ninety minutes of Kirill Moiseev at his very best
Marked 9.55. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Rostov 2.
The terraces16 Aug 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Kirill Moiseev has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match14 Aug 2027
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Rostov 2. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Murad Alimov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Denis Titow beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market2 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market2 Aug 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rostov 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match31 Jul 2027
Nobody wants to play Rostov 2 right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of David Semenchuk
“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.
Match31 Jul 2027
Rostov 2 get the job done against Nart
A 1‑0 win over Nart, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Market2 Aug 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Daniil Gorovykh has his answer from Rostov 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
7.84, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Rostov 2 had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Too much change too quickly at Rostov 2
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market26 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rostov 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Denis Titow, 20, steals the show — 7.77
Marked 7.77 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Rostov 2
David Semenchuk 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.
The terraces26 Jul 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Denis Titow has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match24 Jul 2027
A 1‑0 win over Astrakhan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Vladimir Kasparyan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Marked 7.95. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Nil Khrenov could afford to be generous.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Semenchuk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rostov 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Jul 2027
He is 21, he is averaging 7.33, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Murad Alimov and Rostov 2 agree another 3 years.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Danil Ryazanov 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Rostov 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artur Maxetsov 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 dugout12 Jul 2027
Denis Titow gets it from the manager
“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
Crisis
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
22 appearances away from home and 33 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Neftekhimik
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Neftekhimik is running low.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A fracture rules Maxim Shorkin out for 50 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Neftekhimik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Apr 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Neftekhimik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Marat Sitdikov 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paulinho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
David Kobesov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and David Kobesov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Georgy Tsvetkov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Neftekhimik will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
22 appearances away from home and 33 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Neftekhimik
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Neftekhimik is running low.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Maxim Shorkin out for 80 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Neftekhimik will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market29 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Neftekhimik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Paulinho in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Neftekhimik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Neftekhimik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitry Shadrintsev 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Neftekhimik, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Maxim Shorkin
“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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match30 Sep 2026
KDV Tomsk are out and Neftekhimik go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
What a way to start for Georgy Tsvetkov — 7.85
1 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.85 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Nikita Vasiljev, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.02
A mark of 8.02 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market5 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Neftekhimik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Marat Sitdikov 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.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
The goals keep arriving from Artem Kotik’s exile
15 goals in 10 games at Amkar — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Neftekhimik updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Neftekhimik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulinho 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
190% of the income goes out in wages at Neftekhimik
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.