Thrashings and Comebacks: Key Highlights from Matchweek 3 of the Freedom QJ League

Almaty Teams Take the Lead

It was a stellar weekend for Kairat: all three of the club's teams scored big wins over Irtysh’s youth squads.
In the U-16 tournament, the Almaty side won 7–1, drawing level with Astana at the top of the table – the two leaders will clash in the next round.

In the U-17 match, Kairat triumphed 10–1. Nilesh Sharma scored four goals, while 14-year-old forward Roman Chernomorets netted a hat-trick – one of the youngest scorers in the league.
In the senior match, Kairat beat the Pavlodar side 7–1, becoming the only team to win all of its games so far and taking sole leadership in the title race.

The stars of the match for the Yellow-and-Blacks were Daulet Orynbasar and Ablai Toleukhan – both scored twice and provided an assist, with the latter only coming on in the 57th minute. Toleukhan now leads the scoring charts with five goals; the next closest challengers have three.

Interestingly, this game reset Irtysh's goal difference to zero – they’ve now scored and conceded 10 goals each under coach Askhat Musatayev.

First Win for Kaisar

The match between two winless sides – Kaisar and Caspiy – ended in a narrow victory for the Kyzylorda team. Midfielder Bakbergen Ybyraykhan scored the game’s only goal.
Thanks to this win, Kaisar climbed to ninth place in the table, overtaking not only Caspiy, but also Tobol and Aktobe, who have just one point each.

Yeraly Tungysh Saves Taraz

Up until the final minutes of the match between Astana and Taraz, it seemed the capital club would bounce back from their slip-up in Aktobe with a solid win – by the 86th minute, the southern side trailed 0–2, with the first goal being an own goal by Azamat Kalmukhambet.

But the game was flipped by second-half substitute Yeraly Tungysh, who needed just four minutes to rescue his team. First, he scored his season’s first goal in the 86th minute, then four minutes later forced Ali Askerbekov to score the second own goal of the match – 2–2 on the scoreboard.

Another remarkable moment came in the U-16 tournament: shortly after Astana took the lead in the 79th minute through Anuar Tolendi, Taraz defender Abilai Toktassyn sprinted from the center circle and unleashed a strike – home goalkeeper Arslan Kuandykov was caught completely off guard. That goal proved decisive, as no others followed.

Comebacks by Ordabasy and Atyrau

Zhas Kyran came close to securing a win over Ordabasy and overtaking Irtysh in the main league standings – by the 68th minute, the Almaty side was leading 2–0 in Shymkent. However, the hosts regrouped and salvaged a draw thanks to goals from Abdurakhman Orumbaev and Zhanali Yesenaliev (from the penalty spot), ending the match 2–2.

A similar story unfolded in Kostanay. Tobol were on the verge of their first win of the season, having gone ahead in the 57th minute via Zhanu Kopzhasarov. But Maksat Muratov equalized from the penalty spot, and in the 89th minute, Matvey Borisov struck to seal the win for Atyrau.

Notably, the 16-year-old midfielder had already scored a crucial goal in the previous round that earned Atyrau a draw against Shakhter. This time, Borisov delivered all three points for his team for the first time this season.

The Highest-Scoring Matches of the Week

Freedom QJ League: Irtysh – Kairat (1:7)

Freedom QJ League U-17: Irtysh – Kairat (1:10)

Freedom QJ League U-16: Irtysh – Kairat (1:7)