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On Sunday, the remaining five matches of the 19th round of the Russian Premier League were played. The matches between "Lokomotiv" and "Spartak", between "Dinamo" and "Amkar", and between "Spartak" from Nalchik and "Rubin" ended in goalless draws, while "CSKA" and "Zenit" defeated their opponents with minimal results.
In Tomsk, the league leaders "CSKA" visited. At the start of the match, it didn't seem like they were the league leaders as "Tom" rushed to score an early goal. However, they failed to do so, and "CSKA" recovered and started threatening the hosts' goal themselves.
At the beginning of the second half, "Tom" once again created some dangerous opportunities, but in the 53rd minute, "CSKA" striker I. Olic scored. "Tom" did not give up, and "CSKA" simply played for time towards the end of the half. With a 0-1 result, "CSKA" won, maintaining their position as league leaders.
In Moscow, the match between "Lokomotiv" and "Spartak" took place. The match started cautiously, but it was evident that "Lokomotiv" had more control over the ball. The hosts created the first slightly more dangerous moment when D. Loskov struck from 30 meters, but it went over the goal.
"Spartak" remembered to attack in the 15th minute when R. Pavlyuchenko headed inaccurately towards the goal. Immediately after that, "Lokomotiv" responded with a shot from the Scottish Garry O’Connor, but it was also off-target.
In the second half, both teams exchanged attacks, but halfway through the half, "Spartak" took the initiative and attacked dangerously, while "Lokomotiv" hoped to score on the counter. However, neither team managed to score, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
In St. Petersburg, the recently unbeaten "Zenit" met the winless Samara team "Krylja Sovetov". After the starting whistle, both teams attacked, but after a while, only "Zenit" started to stand out with dangerous actions. However, the actions still did not turn into goals, and the game became rougher with players from both teams starting to lie down on the green field after collisions.
"Zenit" made substitutions, but it didn't change the course of the game immediately. In the 74th minute, they made their last substitution, which brought Aleksandr Kerzhakov onto the field. He scored the only goal of the match in the remaining time. With a 1-0 result, "Zenit" won, continuing their unbeaten streak, while "Krylja Sovetov" extended their winless run.
In Moscow, two of the tournament's underdogs - "Dinamo" and Perm's "Amkar" - met. In the first half, "Dinamo" was more active, but the most dangerous moment was when Roberto Poshkus' goal was disallowed.
In the second half, "Dinamo" completely dominated the field, but they still couldn't score, and the players from the capital team started playing roughly, resulting in "Dinamo" captain Derlei being sent off at one point. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, with the teams remaining in the same positions in the tournament table.
The last match of the round saw Kazan's "Rubin" face off against "Spartak" from Nalchik. The teams didn't have many chances to score and the match ended in a peaceful 0-0 draw.
19th round Sunday match statistics:
0 - 1
53’ [0 - 1] Ivica Olic
A. Skerla ("Tom") was registered for the match but did not appear on the field. D. Šemberas ("CSKA") played from the 71st minute.
0 - 0
I. Dedura ("Spartak") was not registered for the match.
1 - 0
81’ [1 - 0] Aleksandr Kerzhakov
E. Majus ("Zenit") and E. Raziulis ("Krylja Sovetov") were not registered for the match.
0 - 0
71’ Derlei ("Dinamo"), 77’ A. Popov ("Amkar") were sent off the field.
Ž. Karčemarskas ("Dinamo") played the entire match, while R. Poškus ("Dinamo") played until the 86th minute.
0 – 0
Tournament Table
