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This weekend, the matches of the fourth round of the Russian "Premier" League took place. After another failure, the teams that started the season poorly, "Lokomotiv" and "Dynamo," faced each other, while "CSKA" defeated "Tom" in the leaders' duel. "Spartak" won in the Moscow derby, while "Krylya Sovetov" and "Spartak Nalchik" continued to surprise everyone with successful games.
The first match of the round took place in Moscow, where "Moscow" and the league newcomers "Luch-Energiya" players met. The match began with an active start from the "Moscow" players, who conceded the first goal. The visitors' goalkeeper pushed the ball strongly into the field, and "Luch" defender Alexey Ivanov ran with it for another 20 meters and, despite three "Moscow" defenders nearby, sent the ball into the goal. Five minutes later, the visitors had a chance to double the score but failed to capitalize.
After the second half, there were several changes in the composition of "Moscow," which bore fruit. In the 64th minute, a penalty kick was converted into a goal for "Luch." And a few minutes before the end of the match, Moscow forward Roman Adamov scored a goal and secured a 2-1 victory.
In the matches of the second round, Rostov's "Rostov" and Moscow's "Torpedo" faced each other. The first half was uneventful, with the ball mostly in the center of the field, and only at the end of the half did "Torpedo" create a dangerous moment.
In the second half, the teams started playing faster and more actively after reaching an agreement. The goal did not take long to arrive. Uruguayan Mario Perez scored a goal for "Rostov" after a lightning-fast attack. The hosts continued to control the situation and looked like they could score another goal, but "Torpedo" managed to equalize the score in one of the counterattacks.
In other matches, the leaders of the league – Moscow's "CSKA" and Tomsk's "Tom" – met. "Tom" did not show a game befitting a leader, while "CSKA" easily celebrated a victory with the help of their young forward Jo.
In the last match on Saturday, Ramenskoye's "Saturn" faced Yaroslavl's "Shinnik." The injury-ridden "Shinnik" found it difficult to expect an easy game against the still undefeated "Saturn." The initiative was immediately taken by the "Saturn" players, and in the 8th minute, they took the lead. The most active player in the first half was Edgar Cheznaukas, who constantly terrorized the "Shinnik" defense. The second half saw "Shinnik" attacking, but they conceded two more goals and the "Saturn" players celebrated their first victory with a score of 3-0.
The Sunday matches started with two capital city clubs - "Spartak" and "Lokomotiv." The matches between these teams are characterized by their uncompromising nature, but they were also made more interesting by reports in the Russian media about disagreements between "Spartak's" head coach and player Dmitry Alenichev.
Both teams started the match actively, without any hesitations. The first goal was scored by the "Spartak" players, but it was an own goal. However, the score was soon equalized by Vladimir Bystrov. After the break, the game did not change, with both teams constantly attacking, but "Spartak" had more success, managing to score another goal. They won with a score of 2-1.
In Perm, the local "Amkar" faced the disappointment of the season, Moscow's "Dynamo." "Amkar" took the initiative as the home team, but struggled to convert it into goals until they scored the first goal of the match at the end of the half.
In the second half, the roles of the teams changed. "Dynamo" attacked, while "Amkar" defended and tried to counterattack. One of the attacks was successful, and "Amkar" scored their second goal. "Dynamo" responded quickly, with Igor Semshov scoring their first goal. It seemed an intrigue had appeared, but after three more minutes, a third goal was scored for "Amkar." "Dynamo" did not give up and managed to score another goal, but the final result remained in favor of the hosts. "Amkar" won 3-2.
In Samara, "Krylya Sovetov," who was labeled as an underdog, faced St. Petersburg "Zenit," who had just withdrawn from the UEFA Cup battles. Three goals were scored in the first twenty minutes of the first half, two of which were converted from penalty kicks, and at the end of the half, another penalty was awarded that "Zenit" conceded and the Samara players converted.
In the second half, "Krylya Sovetov" players retreated to defend, while "Zenit" took active actions. At the end of the second half, "Zenit" narrowed the gap, but a few minutes later, a "Zenit" player was removed from the field, diminishing their hopes of equalizing. The Samara players celebrated a 3-2 victory.
In the last round of matches, the league newcomers Nalchik's "Spartak" and Kazan's "Rubin" faced each other. Nalchik's "Spartak," a debutant in the league, celebrated a 3-1 victory, marking their second win of the season.
4th round statistics
2-1
25' [0-1] Aleksej Ivanov
64' [1-1] Dmitriy Kirichenko (pen.)
86' [2-1] Roman Adamov
1-1
54' [1-0] Mario Perez
66' [1-1] Aleksandr Panov
90' P. Mamayev ("Torpedo") sent off for a second yellow card
2-0
20' [1-0] Jo
41' [2-0] Jo (pen.)
D. Semberas ("CSKA") appeared on the field in the 87th minute, while A. Skerla ("Tom") appeared on the field in the 82nd minute.
3-0
8' [1-0] Branislav Obzera
59' [2-0] Martin Jakubko
90' [3-0] Spartak Gognijev
E. Chesnauskis ("Saturn") played until the 69th minute, while R. Djaukstas ("Saturn") was registered for the match but did not appear on the field.
2-1
7' [0-1] Roman Pavlyuchenko (own goal)
24' [1-1] Vladimir Bystrov
70' [2-1] Yegor Titov
I. Dedura ("Spartak") was not registered for the match.
3-2
36' [1-0] Sergei Volkov
75' [2-0] Martin Kushev
76' [2-1] Igor Semshov
79' [3-1] Ivan Cherenchikov
83' [3-2] Maxim Romashchenko
Z. Karchemarskas ("Dynamo") was registered for the match but did not appear on the field.
3-2
9' [0-1] Aleksandr Kerzhakov (pen.)
13' [1-1] Alexei Medvedev
18' [2-1] David Mujiri (pen.)
43' [3-1] David Mujiri (pen.)
86' [3-2] Aleksandr Kerzhakov
89' E. Hagen ("Zenit") was sent off the field.
R. Poškus ("Zenit") played from the 73rd minute, while E. Majus ("Zenit") and E. Raziulis ("Krylya Sovetov") were not registered for the match.
3-1
19' [1-0] Ngasaniya Ilongo
39' [1-1] Dmitriy Vasiliev
58' [2-1] Erik Korchagin
85' [3-1] Andrey Poroshin
League table
