Lantratov heroics salvage a crucial Khimki point away to Nizhny Novgorod

Nizhny Novgorod 0-0 Khimki
Sunday 17 April, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium

Man of the Match: Ilya Lantratov (Khimki)

Nizhny Novgorod huffed and puffed but simply couldn’t blow down the Khimki house no matter how hard they tried. The hosts were well on top in the first half, recording eight shots on target while Khimki managed just one shot overall before the break.

Ilya Lantratov was a busy keeper, flinging a save to a Nikolay Kalinsky piledriver from distance in the first half before only being able to watch a Nikita Kravtsov header loop onto the crossbar and over just two minutes into the second period.

Nizhny Novgorod retained control of the attacking impetus so well that they finished with 18 shots on goal to just a single one from their opponents.

Khimki continued their miraculous recovery from seeming relegation certainties by extending their unbeaten run to five matches - their longest such stretch in over a year - to take them four points clear of the bottom two with five games remaining.

Nizhny Novgorod remain 11th on 28 points, while Khimki stay 13th on 25 points.

Next RPL fixtures: Saturday 23 April - Lokomotiv vs Nizhny Novgorod; Sunday 24 April - Khimki vs Krylia Sovetov