This promotion/relegation playoff match sees Tom Tomsk of the FNL take on Kuban Krasnodar of the Russian Premier League. The locations of these two sides show the vastness of Russia as Kuban from the sunny south of Russia take on Tomsk from the wintery West Siberia.
Kuban looked like one of those sides that were certain to go down for most of the season but they managed to turn their form around and stay out of the relegation zone. However, their 2-0 loss away at Ural will be a concern to manager Igor Osinkin, the Toads were poor against their Ekaterinburg based opponents and a win would have secured Premier League football for next season but instead they once again find themselves in a survival scrap.
Tom Tomsk are one of the more famous sides of the FNL having had the likes of Garry O’Connor and Pavel Pogrebnyak play for them in the past. You would think that being eight points off the automatic promotion spots would have sent Valery Nepomnyashchy’s side into complacency, however, the opposite has happened. Seemingly determined to take some good momentum into the playoffs, the Siberian side have won their last four games to nil.
Tom’s momentum will give them great confidence going into a game against a Kuban side whose recent positive results, apart from their Ural loss, have disguised their on and off field problems. They seemed to have played well when the pressure is off as shown by their recent victories despite having already secured their promotion playoff spot. The Siberian side will once again be under no pressure and this will only benefit them.