Kazakhstan round-up: Aktobe stumble

FK Aktobe Lento dropped their first points of the season in a week which saw two rounds of fixtures in the Kazakhstan Championship.

Run halted
Aktobe had already struggled to gain a 1-0 win against FC Ordabasy Shymkent, but their run was halted with a 0-0 draw against FC Kaisar Kyzylorda which leaves them in third, albeit with games in hand.

Zhenis storm to top
FC Zhenis Astana were the team of the week, leading the way with a 4-0 win against FC Yelimai Semey and 5-0 victory against FC Vostok Oskemen. The Kazakhstan national team coach, Leonid Pakhomov, watched the defeat of Vostok and was impressed with the performance of Zhenis forward Evgeni Lunev.

Tobol edge to wins
FC Tobol Kostanay, whose UEFA Intertoto Cup campaign is now close, scored a 2-0 win against Vostok and single-goal victory against Yelimai to move into second, level on points with Zhenis. FC Yesil Bogatyr Petropavlovsk's two home matches were nationally televised for the first time, but they could only lose 2-0 to FC Kairat Almaty and draw 1-1 with high-flying FC Shakhtyor Karagandy.

Crowd happy
FC Yesil Kokshetau remain the only top-flight club that do not charge their supporters for tickets – and capacity crowds saw Yesil firstly draw 1-1 with Shakhtyor and then beat Kairat 1-0.

Atyrau on form
FK Atyrau returned to form with wins against FC Zhetysu Taldykorgan and FC Taraz, while FC Irtysh Pavlodar overcame FC Ekibastuzets Ekibastuz 1-0. FC Batys Uralsk bounced back from losing 1-0 to Kaisar by beating Ordabasy 2-0.