Russian Cup play-offs
Regions Path Quarter-finals, 1st stage
Zvezda St. Petersburg 0-2 FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod
Monday 27 February, Kirovets Stadium, St. Petersburg
Goals: Pari NN – Kakkoev (34), Kornyushin (64)
New chapter for Pari NN started in St. Petersburg, it was the first match with new head coach Artem Gorlov. Some new names were added to players’ squad too, like Denis Glushakov and Vladislav Yakovlev, but legacy, left by previous coach Mikhail Galaktionov, worked out. Nikita Kakkoev, who spent multiple years in Zenit Academy, gave the lead with great shot to the top corner. Zvezda, coached by RPL champion Dmitry Kombarov, made some trouble after the half-time, but guests from Nizhny extended the lead with help from the bench, Nikolay Kalinsky made an assist to Daniil Kornyushin, and he beat goalkeeper in the near corner. Zvezda were the last Second League team remaining in the Cup.
In the next quarter-finals stage Pari NN will face one of the teams eliminated from the same stage of RPL Path. Opponent will be decided through draw procedure, and fixtures will take place in the middle of March between RPL Matchdays 19 and 20. Other RPL representatives here are Zenit and Akhmat.