The Rodina M Courier
Match29 Aug 2026
Rodina M tear Orel apart
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Orel, and it could have been more.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Maxim Kononov scores twice — 8.03
Two goals and a mark of 8.03 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Maxim Kononov 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 Rodina M this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Door shut on Rodion Tsvetkov
Rodina M asked and Volna said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
Rodina M supporters have found a favourite in Nikita Postnikov
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Nikita Postnikov 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Maxim Kononov at the heart of a fast Rodina M start
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Maxim Kononov in the middle of it, and Orel unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Semyon Abramov 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Rodina M training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Gorbachev 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
Dmitry Zorin has his say
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Dmitry Zorin on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
- Squad Maxim Kononov is off the mark for Rodina M
- The dugout Mark Vysochenko gets picked when it counts
- Squad Ilja Gorbachev has had enough of the bench