Marked for Ivan Andrakhovich
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Nürtilek Sulaymanov 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Metallurg left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladislav Zykh, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Dmitry Zakharov to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. SKA Khabarovsk 2 have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at SKA Khabarovsk 2 was different afterwards.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Nürtilek Sulaymanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match8 Aug 2026
Orel left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at SKA Khabarovsk 2, another week without a signature from Vladislav Zykh.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Ivan Andrakhovich
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Borisov, and the manager let it.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A new face in his position, and Nürtilek Sulaymanov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. SKA Khabarovsk 2 have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 8. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladislav Nikiforov and SKA Khabarovsk 2 agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Nürtilek Sulaymanov 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 dugout3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Andrakhovich, and the manager let it.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Aug 2026
SKA Khabarovsk 2 are still strangers to each other
15 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Andrey Boiko 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.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.