Kazakhstan Claws Back From Two Goals Down to Draw 2-2 With Faroe Islands

Kazakhstan found itself down 2-0 on its own turf at Astana Arena and still managed to pull a point out of nowhere: 2-2 against the Faroe Islands in the UEFA Nations League, with a red card for each side in the closing minutes and a heart-stopping finish in Group C3.

The match opened with the Faroe Islands uncomfortable on the scoreboard but comfortable with the game plan. In the 21st minute, Petur Knudsen headed home a close-range cross from Jóannes Bjartalíd off a corner kick to make it 0-1, and that scoreline held until halftime even as Kazakhstan began piling up chances without finding the net. In the second half, the Faroese doubled their lead with a stunner from Géza Turi: a right-footed strike from outside the box that flew straight into the top corner for 0-2 in the 62nd minute.

At that point the game looked settled, but it only got messier for the visitors: two minutes later, Martin Agnarsson picked up his second yellow card for a dangerous challenge, leaving the Faroe Islands down to ten men. Kazakhstan, with the extra man and the crowd behind it, pushed forward immediately. Sergey Maliy pulled one back in the 67th minute with a low shot from outside the box that found the inside of the left post, and just eight minutes later the equalizer arrived: Nuraly Alip headed home through the middle of the goal to make it 2-2 off a cross from Maksim Samorodov. The home side even got a taste of its own medicine down a man, as Maliy, scorer of Kazakhstan's first goal, was sent off with a straight red in the 84th minute, so the final minutes were played ten against ten.

What the Numbers Say

Kazakhstan controlled the ball with 67.3% possession and fired off 24 shots to the Faroe Islands' 15, though both teams finished level on shots on target, with 4 apiece. The expected goals generated in the match, calculated after the fact based on the shots taken, also favor the home side: 2.134 to the Faroe Islands' 1.191, a reflection of how the home team grew into the game while the Faroese sat back on their lead.

The pre-match odds had been fairly evenly split: 31% for a Kazakhstan win, 35% for a draw and 34% for the Faroe Islands, with expected goals of 0.96 and 1.01 respectively. The draw ended up being the closest outcome to what was projected, though the road to get there, clawing back a two-goal deficit in just thirteen minutes with two red cards along the way, was far more chaotic than any percentage could have predicted.

Where the Group Stands

In Group C3, the Faroe Islands have 4 points from 4 matches played, all of them draws, and sit in second place. Kazakhstan, with 2 points from its 4 matches (no wins, two draws and two losses), is fourth, 2 points behind today's opponent. Slovakia leads with 7 points from 3 matches, and Moldova rounds out the table with 4 points from 3 matches.

For Kazakhstan, the result leaves a bittersweet taste of a comeback that fell just short: the team managed to draw level in a match it had been losing, but the point isn't enough to climb out of the bottom of the group. For the Faroe Islands, on the other hand, it's another point extending their unbeaten run of draws, though this time with the bitter aftertaste of having let a two-goal lead slip away while holding a man advantage in the closing stretch.