However, Tosno's relegation to second division football worsened the club's economic troubles, leading to its dissolution.

The club's first official match took place on 10 July 2013, when they defeated FC Dynamo Vologda in the First Round of the 2013–14 Russian Cup (they reached the quarter-finals that year).

Prior to the season's start, Tosno had signed a contract with Bulgarian manager Nikolay Kostov.

[7] The manager post was then passed to Yevgeni Perevertailo, who guided Tosno to a third-place finish in the league.

However, Tosno lost 1:5 on aggregate to Rostov in the play-offs and did not earn promotion to the Russian Premier League.

[8] Tosno finished the season in 7th position and reached the Round of 16 in the Russian Cup, where the club lost only to future champions Zenit.

The cup, on the other hand, saw the team enjoy vast success, reaching the final after defeating reigning champions FC Spartak Moscow in a match that saw them fight back from a one-goal deficit in regular time to seal a close victory in penalty shoot-outs.

[9] As a consequence of winning the cup, Tosno were qualified to represent Russia in the following season's Europa League group stage, pending UEFA licensing, which would have marked the club's first ever appearance in a major European competition.

However, immediately following the cup victory, Russian Football Union president Aleksandr Alayev announced that Tosno had missed the deadlines for UEFA licensing applications and would therefore not be eligible to participate in the competition.