We recap the final round of the girls’ competition.
Bronze goes to Shakhter
The main intrigue of the final matchweek surrounded third place, with three teams still in contention for bronze.
Tobyl and Shakhter entered the round level on 20 points, with the Kostanay side sitting third on additional tiebreakers. Aktobe, on 17 points, also retained a mathematical chance of reaching the podium – the Red and Whites needed to beat Tobyl and hope for Shakhter to lose their match.
In the end, Aktobe defeated Tobyl 2–0, while Shakhter drew 2–2 with Astana in the parallel fixture. Shakhter finished on 21 points, moving ahead of their rivals, who remained on 20.
These are Shakhter’s first medals in the Freedom QJ League W. Last season, bronze went to Irtysh.
Irtysh spoil Ordabasy’s mood
In Shymkent, Ordabasy suffered a surprise home defeat to Irtysh, who won 2–1 and took revenge for their 5–1 loss in the first round. The away victory brought Irtysh level with Ordabasy on 13 points, but sixth place still remained with the Shymkent side due to the additional tiebreakers.
Kairat end the season in style
The reigning champions finished the campaign in the same commanding fashion they had shown throughout the year, thrashing Kaisar 10–0 away from home. Interestingly, Kairat had also beaten Kaisar by exactly the same score in the first round.
Individual achievements
Just like last season, Kairat’s Milena Nikolenko finished as the league’s top scorer with 33 goals – none of them from the penalty spot. Her teammates Zhaniya Makhash and Sofia Yagudina finished as the season’s top assist providers with 14 assists each.
