Russia: Evans Kangwa scores as Arsenal Tula survive relegation!!
Chipolopolo striker Evans Kangwa scored Arsenal Tula’s goal as Tula survived relegation despite losing 2-1 at Ufa.
Arsenal Tula, who have dreaded relegation for most of the season can finally breathe a sigh of relief as they live to play another season in the Russian Premier League.
It was expected to be a dramatic final day especially at the bottom with a three-way relegation battle between Ufa, Arsenal Tula and Rotor Volgograd on the cards.
All teams as per final match day tradition were expected to kick off at the same time (14:00 local Moscow time).
But the match between Tula and Ufa was postponed briefly due to high temperatures.
This meant that both teams could know their fate after Rubin Kazan and Rotor Volgograd’s match.
Much to the delight of both teams,Volgograd drew 1-1 with Kazan meaning both teams were safe from direct relegation.
More good news followed…
The Russian Football Union took the decision that the teams positioned 2nd and 4th (Orenburg and FC Alania Vladikavkaz) in the Russian Football National League (the 2nd tier) did not meet the minimum requirements to achieve a license to play in the highest level of the Russian Football system.
As a resulty, playoffs which usually pair the 13th and 14th from the top tier against the 3rd and 4th teams from the second tier were annulled guaranteeing Arsenal Tula and Ufa’s safety(both were positioned 13th and 14th respectively before kick-off) .
Today’s match
After a 2-hour delay, the match was given a green light after temperatures had normalized.
Evans Kangwa started in his usual role on the left of a striking trio while his younger brother Kings was named on the bench.
Ufa started brightly with an early goal from Oleg Ivanov who headed from a set piece taken by Moritz Bauer in the 7th minute.
Tula kept on pushing found a deserved equalizer.
Our very own Evans Kangwa headed to the bottom right corner after a cross from Aleksandr Lomovitski in 33rd minute to make it 1-1!
Just as the teams looked like they were heading to the break level, Tula’s Maksim Belyaev put the ball into his own net to gift the hosts the lead in 42nd minute (2-1).
Six minutes after the restart, Tula defender Gia Grigavala got a straight red for violent conduct.
In a half with little action Evans was replaced by Kings Kangwa for the remaining 15 minutes as Ufa held on for a win.
Both teams are safe.
We will most likely see the Kangwa brothers playing in the top tier of Russian football for another season.
Post Season Summary
Evans Kangwa completed the season with 4 goals and 3 assists in 25 matches. He is Tula’s top scorer this season.
Kings Kangwa managed 1 goal and 3 assists in 21 matches.
Arsenal Tula will be looking to improve on their performance this season. They finished 14th with 23 points from 30 matches.
Tula only picked 1 point on the road, the fewest in the history of the Russian League since Khimki, who earned a point more in the 2009 season.
The Russian League will now go on summer break in readiness for 2021/22 season.