The Orenburg 2 Courier
Market20 Sep 2027
Kirill Dudarin hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Orenburg 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Stepan Cherednikov stands alone
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Orenburg 2
Vladislav Davydov 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Orenburg 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Evgeny Bolotov 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
The crowd has taken to Stepan Cherednikov
At 20 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.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Ivaschenko
“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.
Boardroom20 Sep 2027
Doors closed at Orenburg 2
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Timofey Martynov could have had three
16 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Evgeny Bolotov 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 Orenburg 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
- The dugout The form table has caught Ivan Morozov
- Player ratings Yegor Antsiperov beats them one at a time
- The dugout Evgeny Bolotov does not fit this one