“Nicky Clescenco gives Moldova a shock lead with a left-footed finish from the left side of the box, against the run of play.”
Pivotal“Petru Popescu doubles Moldova's lead with a header from a corner delivery, punishing another Kazakhstan concession.”
Pivotal“Nuraly Alip heads Kazakhstan back into the contest from a Bauyrzhan Islamkhan cross, setting up a tense finale.”
Kazakhstan
Moldova
Outstanding performance
Kazakhstan•DefenderKazakhstan dominated the ball and the underlying numbers - 65% possession, 19 shots, 11 corners to Moldova's 4 - yet found themselves staring at a two-goal deficit by the 50th minute thanks to Nicky Clescenco's finish and Petru Popescu's header from a set piece. Moldova, clinical with just 8 shots on target from 16 attempts, did their damage in two sharp bursts either side of half-time while conceding territory for long stretches. Nuraly Alip's header on 64 minutes, set up by Bauyrzhan Islamkhan's delivery, gave the hosts hope and sparked a frantic final half-hour, but despite creating three big chances and missing two more, Kazakhstan could not find the breakthrough. The result stings for a Kazakhstan side that out-passed, out-shot and out-cornered their opponents comfortably, while Moldova's efficiency in front of goal and resilience under pressure secured a result that will matter far more for their Nations League campaign than the performance alone suggested.
How entertaining was this match?
Attempt missed. Petru Popescu from Moldova took a left-footed shot from over 40 yards on the left wing.
The fourth official has indicated there will be 3 minutes of added time.
Foul committed by Petru Popescu of Moldova.
Bauyrzhan Islamkhan from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Yan VorogovskiyYellow CardYan Vorogovskiy from Kazakhstan receives a yellow card for a bad foul.
Sergiu Perciun from Moldova wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Yan Vorogovskiy from Kazakhstan.
Corner awarded to Kazakhstan after Ovidiu David concedes.
Kazakhstan wins a corner after Mihail Gherasimencov concedes.
Nauryzbek Zhagorov from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Victor Stîna from Moldova commits a foul.
Dumitru Celeadnic from Moldova is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution for Moldova: Ovidiu David comes on for Ioan-Calin Revenco.
Substitution for Moldova: Daniel Dumbravanu comes on for Vadim Rata.
Foul committed by Sergey Maliy of Kazakhstan.
Attempt missed. Petru Popescu from Moldova takes a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes too high after a fast break.
Dinmukhamed Karaman from Kazakhstan has a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it is blocked.
Vadim Rata commits a foul for Moldova.
Sergey Maliy from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Nauryzbek Zhagorov's header from the center of the box goes to the right. He was assisted by Bauyrzhan Islamkhan with a cross.
Attempt missed. Sergiu Perciun from Moldova takes a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
Mihail Gherasimencov from Moldova is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul committed by Galymzhan Kenzhebek of Kazakhstan.
Galymzhan KenzhebekYellow CardGalymzhan Kenzhebek from Kazakhstan receives a yellow card for a foul.
Handball by Yan Vorogovskiy of Kazakhstan.
Attempt missed. Victor Stîna from Moldova takes a left-footed shot from the left side of the box but misses to the right. He was assisted by Mihail Gherasimencov after a fast break.
Substitution for Moldova: Mihail Stefan comes on for Oleg Reabciuk.
Attempt missed. Erkin Tapalov from Kazakhstan heads the ball from the center of the box, but it goes to the left. Yan Vorogovskiy provided the assist with a cross.
Substitution for Kazakhstan: Sergey Maliy comes on for Temirlan Erlanov.
Attempt blocked. Bauyrzhan Islamkhan from Kazakhstan has a right-footed shot from outside the box that is blocked.
Kazakhstan wins a corner after Vladislav Baboglo concedes.
Nichita Motpan from Moldova is awarded a free kick on the right wing.
Foul committed by Dinmukhamed Karaman of Kazakhstan.
Foul committed by Vladislav Baboglo of Moldova.
Substitution for Kazakhstan: Nauryzbek Zhagorov comes on for Aleksandr Mrynskiy.
Artur Shushenachev from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
assist: Bauyrzhan Islamkhan
Goal! Moldova leads Kazakhstan 2-1. Nuraly Alip scores for Kazakhstan with a header from the center of the box into the top right corner, assisted by Bauyrzhan Islamkhan's cross after a set piece situation.
Foul committed by Oleg Reabciuk of Moldova.
Aleksandr Mrynskiy from Kazakhstan wins a free kick on the right wing.
Sergiu Perciun from Moldova wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Erkin Tapalov of Kazakhstan.
Attempt saved. Petru Popescu's header from the center of the box is saved in the middle of the goal by Aleksandr Zarutskiy. The cross was assisted by Ioan-Calin Revenco.
Sergiu Perciun from Moldova is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Galymzhan Kenzhebek of Kazakhstan.
Substitution for Moldova: Victor Stîna comes on for Nicky Clescenco.
Substitution for Kazakhstan: Artur Shushenachev comes on for Ramazan Karimov.
Petru Popescu of Moldova is caught offside.
Yan Vorogovskiy from Kazakhstan has a left-footed shot from the left side of the box, but it is blocked. The assist came from Azamat Tuyakbayev.
Corner awarded to Kazakhstan after Iurie Iovu concedes.
Dinmukhamed Karaman's left-footed shot from outside the box is blocked. The attempt was assisted by Azamat Tuyakbayev.
Galymzhan Kenzhebek from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick on the right wing.
Foul committed by Vadim Rata of Moldova.
Attempt missed. Galymzhan Kenzhebek from Kazakhstan has a right-footed shot from the left side of the box that goes high and wide to the right after a corner.
Bauyrzhan Islamkhan's right-footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. He was assisted by Dinmukhamed Karaman.
Kazakhstan wins a corner after Vadim Rata concedes.
Corner awarded to Kazakhstan after Oleg Reabciuk concedes.
assist: Sergiu Perciun
Goal! Moldova leads 2-0 against Kazakhstan. Petru Popescu scores with a header from the left side of the six-yard box into the high center of the goal, assisted by Sergiu Perciun's cross following a corner.
Corner awarded to Moldova after a concession by Aleksandr Mrynskiy.
Oleg Reabciuk from Moldova is awarded a free kick on the left wing.
Foul committed by Aleksandr Mrynskiy of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan wins a corner after Petru Popescu concedes.
Nicky Clescenco commits a foul for Moldova.
Erkin Tapalov from Kazakhstan wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution for Moldova: Nichita Motpan comes on for Vladimir Fratea.
The second half begins with the score at Kazakhstan 0, Moldova 1.
Substitution for Kazakhstan: Azamat Tuyakbayev comes on for Elkhan Astanov.
Substitution for Kazakhstan: Erkin Tapalov comes on for Ramazan Orazov.
The first half ends with Kazakhstan trailing 0-1 against Moldova.
The fourth official has indicated there will be 1 minute of added time.
Goal! Moldova takes the lead 1-0 against Kazakhstan as Nicky Clescenco scores with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the bottom left corner.
Attempt missed. Galymzhan Kenzhebek from Kazakhstan takes a right-footed shot from outside the box but it goes too high. He was assisted by Dinmukhamed Karaman, who provided a headed pass after a corner.
Corner awarded to Kazakhstan after Oleg Reabciuk concedes.
Attempt saved. Ramazan Orazov from Kazakhstan has his left-footed shot from outside the box saved in the center of the goal by Dumitru Celeadnic from Moldova. The shot was assisted by Elkhan Astanov.
Attempt saved. Vladimir Fratea from Moldova takes a left-footed shot from outside the box, but Aleksandr Zarutskiy from Kazakhstan saves it in the center of the goal.
Attempt saved. Petru Popescu from Moldova has a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it's saved in the center of the goal by Aleksandr Zarutskiy from Kazakhstan. The shot was assisted by Sergiu Perciun.
Mihail Gherasimencov from Moldova is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Nuraly Alip commits a foul for Kazakhstan.
Attempt missed. Yan Vorogovskiy from Kazakhstan takes a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes high and wide to the left.
Attempt missed. Petru Popescu from Moldova heads the ball from the left side of the six-yard box, but it goes too high. He was assisted by Sergiu Perciun, who delivered a cross following a corner.
Moldova wins a corner after Nuraly Alip concedes.
Delay is over, and they are ready to continue.
The match is delayed due to an injury to Galymzhan Kenzhebek from Kazakhstan.
Attempt blocked. Galymzhan Kenzhebek's right-footed shot from the center of the box is blocked. Bauyrzhan Islamkhan provided the assist.
Corner awarded to Kazakhstan after Oleg Reabciuk concedes.
Attempt missed. Yan Vorogovskiy (Kazakhstan) had a left-footed shot from the left side of the box that went to the right. The attempt was assisted by Ramazan Orazov after a corner.
Attempt missed. Galymzhan Kenzhebek from Kazakhstan takes a right-footed shot from outside the box that is close, but misses the top right corner. Nuraly Alip provided the assist.
Kazakhstan wins a corner after Dumitru Celeadnic concedes.
Ramazan Orazov from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Vadim Rata commits a foul for Moldova.
Attempt missed. Temirlan Erlanov's header from close range goes high and wide to the left. Bauyrzhan Islamkhan provided the assist with a cross after a corner.
Attempt missed. Dinmukhamed Karaman from Kazakhstan takes a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it goes to the right.
Corner awarded to Kazakhstan after a concession by Mihail Gherasimencov.
Attempt saved. Nicky Clescenco from Moldova has his right-footed shot from the center of the box saved by Aleksandr Zarutskiy in the center of the goal. The assist came from Ioan-Calin Revenco.
Moldova wins a corner after Aleksandr Mrynskiy concedes.
Attempt missed. Ioan-Calin Revenco from Moldova heads the ball from the right side of the six-yard box but misses to the left. He was assisted by Sergiu Perciun, who provided a cross following a corner.
Sergiu Perciun from Moldova misses a right-footed shot from the left side of the box, shooting to the right. The attempt was assisted by Nicky Clescenco after a corner.
Attempt saved. Sergiu Perciun from Moldova has a right-footed shot from outside the box, but it's saved in the top center of the goal by Aleksandr Zarutskiy from Kazakhstan. Vladislav Baboglo provided the assist.
Attempt saved. Ioan-Calin Revenco's header from the right side of the box is saved in the center of the goal by Aleksandr Zarutskiy. The chance was assisted by Sergiu Perciun with a cross.
Moldova wins a corner after Aleksandr Zarutskiy concedes.
Nicky Clescenco from Moldova misses the attempt with a right-footed shot from outside the box, sending it high and wide to the right. Petru Popescu assisted him following a fast break.
Foul committed by Yan Vorogovskiy of Kazakhstan.
Vladimir Fratea from Moldova is awarded a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt saved. Elkhan Astanov from Kazakhstan has his right-footed shot from outside the box saved in the bottom right corner by Dumitru Celeadnic from Moldova. The shot was assisted by Ramazan Karimov.
Oleg Reabciuk commits a foul for Moldova.
Elkhan Astanov from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Ramazan Orazov from Kazakhstan is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
Sergiu Perciun commits a foul for Moldova.
First half begins.
Kazakhstan and Moldova meet in Astana both still searching for their first points of the Nations League C campaign. With both sides stuck on 1 point from two games, this is a crucial momentum-setter in a group where defensive discipline has ruled so far.
