Dmitry Kirichenko began his tenure as Rostov head coach with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Akron at the Rostov Arena in the Russian Premier League. The only goal of the game came in first-half stoppage time when Ivan Komarov curled a 27-yard free-kick into the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Vitaly Gudiev with no chance. It was a dream start for Kirichenko, the club legend who replaced Jonathan Alba on 26 September. Rostov thought they had doubled their lead immediately after the restart when Timur Suleymanov tapped home, but a lengthy VAR review ruled the goal out for offside. Akron responded strongly in the second half and hit the woodwork twice: Shumansky struck the post with a long-range effort, and Boldyrev's cross clipped the crossbar. Rostov goalkeeper Artem Petrov made several crucial saves, including a powerful strike from Tedic. Kirichenko admitted after the match that he was satisfied with the first 60-65 minutes but acknowledged his team dropped deeper as the game wore on. Komarov, named man of the match, said the second half was difficult as energy levels dropped. The win lifts Rostov to ninth place with 11 points, while Akron remain 13th with eight. Can Kirichenko build on this winning start and push Rostov up the table.

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