The Irkutsk Courier
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Dmitry Pytlev yet — 8.41
At 39 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.41 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Dmitry Pytlev signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dmitry Pytlev commits to Irkutsk for another 1 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Irkutsk
Dmitry Pytlev 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.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Shinnik tell Irkutsk: Pavel Kuznetsov is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match1 Aug 2026
Ivan Yakovlev sends Irkutsk past Cherepovets
It finished 2‑0, and it was Ivan Yakovlev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Irkutsk.
Market3 Aug 2026
Irkutsk and Yegor Perevoznikov are talking past each other
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Irkutsk try to borrow Matvey Bykov
Sibir have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Alexey Zheleznov 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.” Alexey Zheleznov on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Yegor Perevoznikov 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 Irkutsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
- Market No place for Daniil Kankharey in the plan
- Player ratings Dmitry Ikovanyuk runs at them all day
- The dugout Arseny Lavrentjev left out for tactical reasons at Irkutsk