Tosno’s first ever top flight experience ended with mixed feelings as the Whites suffered direct relegation, but at the same time they recorded some famous wins on the way and also earned their first ever major trophy after shockingly wining the Russian Cup.
Three consecutive defeats to start the season quickly put pressure on the players that were forced to host their matches in the nearby St. Petersburg after their own stadium wasn’t licensed. However, before the winter break Tosno had in their ranks the two very impressive strikers Markov and Zabolotnyi and it was their goals that brought away wins over Arsenal and future champions Lokomotiv in rounds 4 and 6.
Losing just twice between rounds 6 and 15 Tosno managed to climb out of the bottom four and stay there when the winter break came.
As mentioned above Zabolotnyi and Markov scored 12 of Tosno’s 18 goals in 2017, but both of them were sold in the winter and this proved to be the main reason for the Whites struggling big time in attack in 2018. To replace them the coach brought in the 34-year-old veteran Pogrebnyak, but he hardly had the same impact as the duo and also picked up a serious injury just when he was most needed. Without him available in the last four rounds Tosno didn’t have a typical centre forward.
Collecting a single point from their last nine games of the season was Tosno’s undoing and despite being competitive for two-thirds of the way and achieving shocking cup success the Whites ended up relegated in the end.
