© EuroFootball.com
On Friday, the 30th round marked the end of the 2004 season of the Russian "Premier" League. Since there were no surprises and all favorites secured victories, three Lithuanians managed to climb the podium with different teams, occupying different positions.
Deividas Česnauskis' "Lokomotiv" won the gold medals and a place in the next year's Champions League, maintaining their leader position by defeating Jaroslavlio's "Shinnik" team away in the last round.
Just one point behind their Moscow neighbors, "CSKA" failed to secure the championship title after a draw with "Moskva" due to losing in the competition's head-to-head record.
Along with "CSKA", a spot in the UEFA Cup went to Robertas Poškus' Samara "Krylja Sovetov", who secured third place with a one-goal advantage over "Saturn".
Although leading the league for a long time at the beginning of the season, "Zenit", featuring Lithuanians Egidijus Majus and Darius Miceika, managed to secure only fourth place due to a worse head-to-head record.
Despite a victory against Perm's "Amkar", Krasnodar's "Kuban" team was relegated to the second league, unable to stay afloat as "Dinamo" equalized against "Spartak" and overtook them by one point.
Mantas Samusiovas' "Torpedo" defeated "Rostov" and maintained fifth place, while Ignas Dedura's "Spartak" claimed eighth place, and R. Džiaukštas' "Moskva" remained ninth. A. Jankauskas' "Amkar" finished eleventh, Ž. Karčemarskas' "Dinamo" thirteenth, and N. Baras' "Alania" avoided relegation by securing a better head-to-head record against "Kuban".
The top scorer of the championship was Aleksandras Keržakovas from "Zenit" with 18 goals, followed by Andrej Kariaka from "Krylja" with 17 goals. Third and fourth places were shared by Dmitrijus Sučiovas ("Lokomotiv") and Aleksandras Panovas ("Torpedo") with 15 goals each. Lithuanian Robertas Poškus shared the 9th-14th positions with 9 goals.
Final team rankings: 1. "Lokomotiv" 2. "CSKA" 3. "Krylja Sovetov" 4. "Zenit" 5. "Torpedo" 6. "Shinnik" 7. "Saturn" 8. "Spartak" 9. "Moskva" 10. "Rubin" 11. "Amkar" 12. "Dinamo" 13. "Rostov" 14. "Kuban" 15. "Alania" 16. "Rotor"
Final standings after 30 rounds: 1 - 1 15' [1 - 0] Vladimir Beschastnykh 25' [1 - 1] Fernando Cavenaghi I. Dedura ("Spartak") played the full match, while Ž. Karčemarskas ("Dinamo") did not appear on the field.
1 - 4 10' [1 - 0] Baba Adamu 43' [1 - 1] Sergey Semak 49' [1 - 2] Vagner Love 60' [1 - 3] Daniel Carvalho 67' [1 - 4] Vagner Love R. Džiaukštas ("Moskva") and D. Šemberas ("CSKA") played the full match.
2 - 5 10' [0 - 1] Alexandr Kerzhakov 40' [1 - 1] Spartak Gogniev 41' [1 - 2] Andrey Arshavin 47' [1 - 3] Alexandr Spivak 59' [1 - 4] Igor Denisov 85' [2 - 4] Spartak Gogniev 88' [2 - 5] Igor Denisov
1 - 2 44' [0 - 1] Peter Bistrov 51' [1 - 1] Denis Kolodin 74' [1 - 2] Alexandr Anyukov R. Poškus ("Krylja") was not registered for the match due to injury.
4 - 1 3' [1 - 0] Armando Kalisto 18' [2 - 0] Vitaly Astafjev 25' [2 - 1] Georgy Bazaev 45' [3 - 1] Tomas Chizek 81' [4 - 1] Tomas Chizek N. Barasa ("Alania") played the full match.
1 - 2 58' [0 - 1] Artur Tlisov 60' [1 - 1] Zahari Sirakov 75' [1 - 2] Igor Kiselev A. Jankauskas ("Amkar") did not appear on the field.
4 - 1 11' [0 - 1] Alexandr Alkhazov 23' [1 - 1] Sergey Budilin (penalty) 30' [2 - 1] Konstantin Zyryanov 44' [3 - 1] Aleksandr Panov 61' [4 - 1] Aleksandr Panov M. Samusiovas ("Torpedo") played from the 46th minute.
0 - 2 4' [0 - 1] Diniyar Bilyaledinov 21' [0 - 2] Dmitryi Sychev E. Česnauskis ("Lokomotiv") played from the 90th minute.
