Kirov “Homeland” continues to fight at the preliminary stage of the Cup

Meetings of the preliminary stage for the teams of the group “West” are organized in Ulyanovsk on the ice of the sports palace “Volga-Sport-Arena” and will last from 14 to 21 September.

According to the rules of the competition, the three strongest teams from the Western and Eastern groups will continue to fight in the final stage of the tournament, which is scheduled in Khabarovsk from 5 to 11 October.

Before the start of the competition, the head coach of the Kirov team Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Bronnikov emphasized the resolute attitude of the wards to fight for the maximum result in each meeting of the tournament.

However, the starting segment of the cup path was not easy for the Vyatka squad.

On Tuesday, September 15, the Kirovs held their first official match of the season against the Pervouralsk “SKA-Ural Trubnik”.

By the break, the opponent led with a score of 4: 0, and the final whistle recorded the defeat of “Homeland” – 3: 8.

Evaluating the debut meeting, the team mentor noted the instability of the game of his wards, complaining about the loss of game discipline in the second half. Midfielder Vyacheslav Nelyubin added that after such an outcome, a serious and frank conversation took place in the dressing room.

The next test for the team was the game on Wednesday, September 16, against the current champion of the country – Moscow “Dynamo”.

Capital hockey players confidently led in the score after the first forty-five minutes with a score of 7: 2, and the final result was 13: 4 in favor of Muscovites.

Kirov residents managed to break the unsuccessful series on Friday, September 18, in a fundamental confrontation with the local Ulyanovsk Volga.

At the break, the Kirov athletes left the leaders thanks to the goals of midfielder Oleg Pivovarov and striker Stanislav Turushev.

In the second half, midfielder Nikita Menshikov scored from the game, and midfielder Dmitry Kuraev implemented a 12-meter free kick, recording the final victory with the score 4: 3.

This success brought the club the first two points, and Vyacheslav Bronnikov described the course of the tense match as extremely nervous and difficult for the fans.

Already on Saturday, September 19, “Rodina” held a match with Arkhangelsk “Vodnik”.

Kirov finished the first half of the meeting with a minimum backlog of 2: 3, but the end of the forces after Friday’s battle was not enough, which led to the final defeat with the score 3: 8.

Defender of the Vyatka team Vadim Vasiliev self-critically admitted that the team is not looking for excuses for such a denouement.

The hockey players will hold the next match on Sunday evening, September 20, against the Kazan club Ak Bars-Rocket.