The mission in the Cup is completed, all thoughts about the championship
Gazprom-Yugra went to the return game of the playoffs of the preliminary stage of the Russian Cup with Fakel with a semi-experimental squad. And on the court we saw a trio of finishers, fighting, in fact, for the right to prove yourself in the Super League: Bobrov, Serov, Garaev. Plus in the center is youth team player Daniil Golovanov.
The owners finally have all the clips, including two-time world champion Yuri Romano, immediately became the best scorer of the match. Defeat by score 0:3 (23:25, 17:25, 21:25) doesn't look surprising in this context. We fought, stuck together in the first and third sets, in sections they looked quite decent.
But you have to understand, that the same “Torch” is starting 18 October at the Russian Championship in Novy Urengoy, and for the team it’s only a plus to play the match the day before with the optimal lineup. We are going on a long voyage, to Krasnoyarsk, and extra road load, taking into account the further super-tight schedule, could have a negative impact on the team – if not now, then later.
In the same context we, put my hand on my heart, The final round of the final stage of the playoffs of the autumn stage of the preliminary part of the Russian Cup would not be very useful. Imagine, that we beat Fakel on aggregate. Then 26 October we are playing in Ufa the match of the third round of the national championship, 30 October – home game in the Russian Cup with Enisey, for the next (!) the day the championship match is scheduled in Novosibirsk, 5 November – return game of the Cup in Krasnoyarsk, and on the 8th - a home match in the championship with Belogorye.
To put it mildly, super tight schedule, with inevitable transfers. Cannot be said, that the defeat in Novy Urengoy was “planned”, but also give one hundred percent, based on the logic of the calendar, there was no point. We looked at the reserve, made conclusions, kept their strength.
Autumn part of the Russian Cup, which we considered as preparation for the national championship, completed its mission in full. We won the group, played two matches with a strong opponent - now all thoughts are about the Super League. Especially, that the road to the Russian Cup is not over, in fact, The tournament will start again in the spring.
And here’s what Gazprom-Yugra coach Alexander Chefranov said after the match in Novy Urengoy: Yes, we arrived in Novy Urengoy with several young players in the squad. What is the reason? Each team solves its own problems, After all, our main goal is the Russian Championship, and very soon we will have to travel to the first round match in Krasnoyarsk. But we didn’t come here to leave the room either, and show something. Well, showed something, there were some moments, some - no, Let's come home now and figure it out. There were a lot of unforced errors, lost a lot on serve. But in any case it was necessary practice for those players, who received less playing time. And youth, I find, took full advantage of my chance.
3: 0 
Gazprom-Yugra (KhMAO-Yugra)Details
| Date | Time | Championship |
|---|---|---|
| 15.10.2025 | 19:00 | KR 2026 |
Results
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | GENERAL. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torch Yamal (New Urengoy) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Gazprom-Yugra (KhMAO-Yugra) | 23 | 17 | 21 | 0 |
Torch Yamal (New Urengoy)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | S | K | E | FACING | B | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gazprom-Yugra (KhMAO-Yugra)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | S | K | E | FACING | B | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
