The seventh week of the Freedom QJ League is a wrap. Here are the main storylines from the matches of League A's younger age categories.
The biggest sensation of the round was the dropped points by two Kairat teams at once—in the U-17 and U-15 tournaments. Both of these matches against Ordabasy ended in a 1-1 draw.
For the "yellow-and-blacks" born in 2012, this draw did not bring serious consequences—they still lead the table, especially since their closest pursuer (Tobol) also dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Irtysh. On the other hand, Aktobe closed in on the Kostanay side after defeating Astana thanks to a single goal from Milan Nadryshin. Now, the Almaty squad will be highly motivated to get back on the winning track, as their lead over the two rivals has shrunk to just three points.
As for the U-17 team, their situation is more serious—the draw with Ordabasy left Kairat trailing Shakhter by two points. The "Miners" won their match, albeit with some difficulty (2-1 against Kaisar), and now remain the only team in the tournament with a perfect record of 21 points out of 21. Furthermore, the Almaty side failed to increase their advantage over Ordabasy—the Shymkent team, sitting in third place, is only two points behind. Zhas Kyran, occupying the fourth spot after winning their encounter against Kaspiy, is also just three points behind Kairat.
The only Kairat youth team to secure a victory in the past week was the U-16 squad. Goals from Rakhat Kulshmanov and Kaisar Anuarbek brought a clean-sheet victory over their peers from Ordabasy. However, in this age category, the "yellow-and-blacks" are still trailing Shakhter—a result of their draw against Aktobe back in Matchday 3. Over the past weekend, the "Miners" overcame Kaisar in a tough battle and continue to dominate the championship.
Top Scorers After Week 7
Freedom QJ League U-17: Tamerlan Sarsymbayev (Kairat, 8 goals);
Freedom QJ League U-16: Balakhmet Adilbek (Tobol, 7 goals);
Freedom QJ League U-15: Artur Garifullin (Tobol, 11 goals).
Top Assistants After Week 7
Freedom QJ League U-17: Temirlan Abzhapar (Kairat, 5 assists);
Freedom QJ League U-16: Damir Alibayev (Tobol, 5 assists);
Freedom QJ League U-15: 4 players with 4 assists each.
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