© EuroFootball.com
On Wednesday evening, the remaining seven matches of the 24th round of the Russian "Premier" League were played. Leader "CSKA" easily defeated "Moskva" and maintained their position, "Zenit" suffered a heavy defeat in Kazan, "Spartak" won a dramatic battle against "Dinamo," and "Lokomotiv" continued to drop points.
The first match was between Vladivostok's "Luch-Energia" and Tomsk's "Tom." "Tom" did not hesitate and immediately took active actions, but conceded a goal after nine minutes.
"Luch" scored a goal and took control of the game, with "Tom" briefly taking the initiative in the middle of the first half. However, the hosts' attacks were more dangerous, and in one of them, "Tom" defender A. Skerla had to put in a lot of effort to clear the ball from the goal line.
After the break, the situation on the field did not change. It seemed that the initiative was in the hosts' hands, but there were many inaccurate passes and aimless movements. In one of the rare attacks, "Luch" player R. Monariovas escaped the "Tom" defense but failed to outsmart the goalkeeper and fell in the penalty area. The referee immediately awarded a controversial penalty, which was coolly converted by B. Adzhindzhalas.
Two minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty to the hosts, equalizing for "Tom." The penalty was successfully converted by P. Pogrebnyak.
Throughout the remainder of the match, the teams exchanged attacks, but it did not change the course of the match. The final result was a 2-1 victory for Vladivostok's "Luch."
In Rostov, the local "Rostov" faced Perm's "Amkar," who had been consistently collecting points in recent matches. The hosts immediately took the initiative, while the visitors focused on defending and looking for counter-attacking opportunities.
In this way, the first and second halves passed, with an injury-time goal by M. Kushyavas from Bulgaria giving "Rostov" the lead.
This upset the players of "Rostov," and S. Gogniev's goal equalized the score. This player was so ecstatic to score that he received a second yellow card and was sent off. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, and the teams shared a point.
In Samara, "Krylja Sovetov" hosted Ramenskoye's "Saturn." The match started with the home team's players wearing jerseys with the inscription "We support G. Gadzhiev," indicating which side they supported in the current conflict within the club - the team's coach.
It was probably one of the main events in a slow and boring match where both teams lacked motivation and played without fire. "Krylja Sovetov" scored a goal, but the referee disallowed it. The uneventful match ended in a goalless draw.
In Moscow, "CSKA," who had drawn in Perm in the last round, faced "Moskva," who wanted to bounce back after a defeat in Kazan. "Moskva" immediately organized a dangerous attack, but the home goalkeeper, I. Akinfeev, saved the goal.
This sparked the "CSKA" players, who then took the initiative. "CSKA" dominated in "Moskva's" half, but they created few dangerous chances and failed to capitalize on them.
Eventually, a magnificent high pass made by J. Zhirkov was headed in by V. Love for a goal. It seemed that "Moskva" was going to lose by a large margin again. However, their weak defending that day helped them to quickly equalize the score after conceding a goal.
After conceding a goal, "CSKA" again attacked "Moskva's" goal. Meanwhile, "Moskva" counterattacked but also conceded a goal. This time, D. Carvalho made a splendid pass, and V. Love scored his second goal for "CSKA."
The second half of the match was less eventful. "CSKA" controlled the ball more and had a couple of opportunities to score, but the score remained 2-1 in favor of the hosts.
In Kazan, "Rubin" handed a resounding defeat to St. Petersburg's "Zenit." Throughout the match, the stars from the "second" Russian capital did not create any dangerous opportunities. Meanwhile, "Rubin" scored one goal in the first half and two in the second, winning 3-0. This was already the second consecutive significant victory for "Rubin."
In Moscow, the local "Spartak" faced "Dinamo." "Dinamo" believed that they were not inferior to "Torpedo," who managed to play a draw against "Spartak," and immediately launched attacks. Meanwhile, "Spartak" tried to coordinate their attacking actions.
Nothing worked for "Dinamo," but "Spartak's" attacking mechanism synced up and produced results. A penalty was awarded towards "Dinamo's" goal, followed by a high pass, and Ž. Karčemarsk failed to clear the ball from the goal line, allowing R. Pavlyuchenko to score with his head.
After conceding a goal, "Dinamo's" game stalled, but "Spartak" did not take advantage of this. Eventually, "Dinamo" recovered and equalized the score. F. Cavenaghi missed excellent opportunities during the remaining time of the first half.
The second half started with a "Spartak" player being sent off, and shortly after, Derlei put "Dinamo" in the lead. Despite being in the minority, "Spartak" continued to attack, and after several consecutive shots, the ball was redirected into the net from close range by D. Boyarintsev.
Shortly after, the same Ž. Karčemarskas made a mistake, and after handball by "Dinamo's" defender J. Narde, the latter was sent off, and the referee awarded a penalty towards "Dinamo's" goal. The goalkeeper of "Dinamo" touched the ball sent from the 11 m mark, but it still entered the goal.
"Dinamo" tried to equalize, but they lacked accuracy, and "Spartak" emerged victorious with a 3-2 result.
In the final round of matches, Moscow's "Lokomotiv" failed to defeat "Torpedo," and the match ended in a goalless draw. "Torpedo" thus played their second draw with the league leaders.
Statistics of the 24th round matches:
2 – 1
9’ [1 - 0] Konstantin Lobov
76’ [2 - 0] Beslan Adzhindzhal (11 m)
78’ [2 - 1] Pavel Pogrebnyak (11 m)
A. Skerla ("Tom") played the entire match.
1 – 1
87’ [0 - 1] Martin Kushev
90’ [1 - 1] Spartak Gogniyev
90’ S. Gogniyev ("Rostov") was sent off for a second yellow card.
0 – 0
E. Raziulis ("Krylja Sovetov") was not registered for the match, while R. Džiaukštas and E. Česnauskis (both from "Saturn") played the entire match.
2 – 1
25’ [1 - 0] Vagner Love
31’ [1 - 1] Roman Adamov
45’ [2 - 1] Vagner Love
85’ P. Stoika ("Moskva") was sent off for a second yellow card.
D. Šemberas ("CSKA") played from the 46th minute of the match.
3 – 0
9’ [1 - 0] Alejandro Dominguez
67’ [2 - 0] Selim Ben Achour
77’ [3 - 0] Alejandro Dominguez
E. Majus ("Zenit") was not registered for the match.
3 – 2
20’ [1 - 0] Roman Pavlyuchenko
35’ [1 - 1] Danni
58’ [1 - 2] Derlei
75’ [2 - 2] Denis Boyarintsev
80’ [3 - 2] Mozart (11 m)
51’ Geder ("Spartak") and 78’ Jean Narde ("Dinamo") were sent off for a second yellow card. I. Dedura ("Spartak") was not registered for the match, while Ž. Karčemarskas ("Dinamo") played the entire match, and the injured R. Poškus ("Dinamo") was not registered.
0 – 0
