#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Both teams admitted that the main thing in the meeting was the desire to bring joy to the fans. But the game takes its toll, and it always has its winners. In the first and so far only polar super final, the reigning Media League champions, Broke Boys, turned out to be stronger.
On the eve of the meeting, Dmitry Kuznetsov, head coach of 2DROTS, noted that the fans had been looking forward to a show:
“Big football is a rare guest here due to the climate, and this game, since it will be held in the futsal format, may seem a little unusual to professionals, but for the spectators who will watch it, especially for the younger generation, this is motivation to root for us, to follow big and mini-football”.
It is interesting that, judging by the fans’ chants, the majority were rooting for this team. Moreover, it is rare that the Aika stands host so many young spectators: the most ardent fans of media football (perhaps expectedly) are teenagers. They also took part in various challenges and entertainment organized for the match guests.
The first half was held under pressure from 2DROTS: they took the lead in the first minutes of the match. The score remained unchanged for a long time, but closer to the end of the half, the opponent also scored. 2DROTS did not let Brokes go far: two minutes before the end of the period, the second ball flew into the goal of their opponent.
During the break, a prize draw was held for spectators for competitive activities from the partners of this historic match – let us recall that they were T-Bank and NordStar airline.
The second period began with a goal from Brokes, who soon added two more goals, bringing the score to 4:2 in their favor. Six minutes before the end, the fifth goal flew into the empty goal of 2DROTS, who replaced the goalkeeper with a fifth field player. In order to get even, the lagging team asked for a ‘red ball’ – a goal scored by it counts as two. But no one scored.
A minute before the end of the match, the 2DROTS team reduced the gap (5:3 in the Brokes’ favor), but the opponent immediately returned a comfortable lead of three goals (6:3). In this half, another ball flew into their goal – a couple of seconds later the score on the scoreboard was already 7:3, and it remained unchanged until the final siren.
Anton Terehov, a 2DROTS player, commenting on the game, noted that the main thing was not the score, but the fans’ interest:
“It turned out to be a cool, spectacular game. I think this is the main thing we’ve come for. We took the first half from our opponent, but gave up the ending. We had been preparing for a new format of the game, and our coach Dmitry Kuznetsov had told us about the tricks, but we’d had too little time to prepare. It’s a bit of a shame that we’ve lost – you always want to win. But the main thing is that we managed to gather a full stadium and make the spectators happy. The kids are very happy – there’s a huge excitement today, I see this as our main goal”.
Artyom Kuzmin, the Broke Boys team president, one of its founders, agrees with his colleague:
“I think that first of all we’ve brought a big sporting event. As for our victory, we prepared for it – and demonstrated it! If the opponent asks for revenge, I’m ready to come here at least every year. By the way, I like everything in Norilsk: the city turned out to be bigger than I thought, and I was pleasantly surprised by the large number of sports facilities. We were given a tour of the city, to the enterprises. But I haven’t been to the mine, only to the copper plant so far, so I’ll definitely return to the Arctic Circle. I hope Nornickel will invite us to the northern city more than once. It is also very nice that Norilsk residents have such a great interest in the media football industry: here we are not unknown players, but the guests who are known and expected. It was very nice for us to meet the fans in person in such a distant corner of our country”.
The guests did not skimp on gifts and autographs, and there were so many people who wanted to get them that the football players did not leave the Aika parquet for a long time after the game.
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Text: Victor Borodin, Photo: Nornickel’s Polar Division’s press service
