Saturday, April 27, 2013

Dynamo 3-1 Mordovia: Relegation battlers unlucky as Dynamo end winless run

A 3-1 victory for Dynamo Moscow belies the true nature of their match against relegation battlers Mordovia Saransk, where the home side struggled for possession but were clinical in front of goal and took their chances well.

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Dynamo took the lead early on in the 4th minute as Artur Yesupov poked the ball home in their first chance on goal. The home side appeared content to sit back on the ball even at this early stage, which almost cost them their lead in the 11th minute as Tomislav Dujmovic's half-volley clipped the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. Seeing the danger in sitting in a one goal lead, Dan Petrescu pushed his side further forward to secure their lead, eventually succeeding in the 24th minute. Jakob Jantscher dribbled down to the by-line and cut back for Kevin Kuranyi, who slotted the ball low to David Yurchenko's right, amidst shouts from Mordovia's defence that Jantscher had dribbled the ball over the end line before the cross, however it did not appear to cross the line entirely. It took Mordovia only four minutes, when Kirill Panchenko latched onto a Ruslan Mukhametshin through ball and slid it coolly under Anton Shunin to pull one back for the visitors. Despite the positives for Mordovia, Dynamo hit back with the next clear cut chance of the match as Kuranyi grabbed his second and restored the hosts' two goal advantage. Finally content with a solid lead, Petrescu allowed his side to sit deep and counter as Mordovia's 4-3-3 held possession over the 4-2-3-1 of Dynamo. Mordovia were thus able to maintain control of the ball for the remainder of the half, but they failed to have any shots on goal before the interval.

The second period began just as the first had ended, with Mordovia controlling possession yet struggling to create chances, however this changed in about the 60th minute as Panchenko was pushed into the hole behind Mukhametshin and a flurry of close chances followed soon after but Mordovia failed to convert any. Dynamo began to look nervy as the half progressed and, by the 70th minute, Mordovia looked certain to score at some point, yet it was not to be. The hosts managed to close out the half with several desperate clearances and blocks, but they did their job nonetheless and secured their first win in almost a month and temporarily moving into fourth.

Man of the Match: Kevin Kuranyi
Despite being relatively quiet for most of the match, Kuranyi's brace was key to securing Dynamo's edgy victory. He now sits on 10 goals for the season, level with Ahmed Musa and Aleksandr Kerzhakov, but still behind Yura Movsisyan, Wanderson and Lacina Traore

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Spartak 2-2 CSKA: Visitors stun Spartak late in tense Moscow derby

What looked to be a promising and exciting Moscow derby was marred by a rash of fouls, cards and two penalties that lead to a late CSKA comeback as the season-record crowd misbehaved and disrupted large portions of the match.

Spartak surprisingly started on the front foot and took the game to their bitter rivals as a quickfire double attempt from Movsisyan and Yakovlev was saved excellently by Igor Akinfeev, who was on top form throughout the match. About a quarter of an hour in, the release of several flares in the crowd caused smoke to obscure the majority of the pitch from the stands. The smoke remained thick for the following ten minutes of the match and when it cleared, Ognen Vukojevic had picked up a yellow card and Spartak had gained the upper hand. What followed was a series of Spartak free kicks as Pontus Wernbloom and Aleksandrs Cauna  kicked out at their Spartak counterparts time after time. As the half progressed further, Spartak's rigid positions benefited them as they held possession while CSKA's fluid band of 3 behind the striker seemed unsure which of them should drop deep to help the double pivot. CSKA continued to struggle up to the break, ultimately conceding minutes before the break when a good passing move fell to Aiden McGeady, who sent an excellent long range shot past Akinfeev to take Spartak into the break in the lead.

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The interval saw a change for both sides, as Keisuke Honda made his return from illness in the place of Cauna, while Kirill Kombarov replaced Evgenny Makeev for Spartak in the hope of a more able attacking presence. This change seemed to pay off immediately as Spartak doubled their lead through Ari barely a minute after the break. However, Spartak's fortunes went significantly downhill from there. Two minutes following the goal, Aiden McGeady brought down Ahmed Musa in the box and, despite Vagner Love's failure to convert it, the penalty marked the change in the game's flow as CSKA took control. Compressing the centre of the pitch by bringing Dzagoev and Tosic central, CSKA dominated Spartak's central midfield as they controlled possession throughout the second half. Both keepers continued on excellent form for the following quarter of an hour before Musa finally pulled one back for the hosts by sliding the ball low to Dykan's left. CSKA continued to push forward and were rewarded in the 92nd minute, as Vagner Love was brought down in the area by Marek Suchy to give the home side a second penalty, which Alan Dzagoev strongly converted to level the score at 2-2. The Spartak protests led to the match official handing out several yellow cards, including Rafael Carioca's second, meaning he will miss the Red-Whites' match against Anzhi Makhachkala next weekend.

Man of the Match: Alan Dzagoev
Dzagoev was quiet in the first half, but the introduction of Keisuke Honda compressed the pitch and allowed Dzagoev to work the ball in tight spaces. The attacking midfielder created several excellent chances and the equalising penalty was excellently taken.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Spartak 2-0 Amkar: Spartak fail to impress in home victory over Amkar

Spartak Moscow pulled off a 2-0 victory over Amkar Perm, but failed to properly impose their will in what was expected to be a romping of the relegation candidates.

football formationsSpartak were forced to field a substantially below-strength side as the continued absences of Zhano Ananidze, Welliton, Sergei Pesjakov, Sergei Parshivlyuk and Romulo removed a substantial portion of the host's starting XI. Rafael Carioca and Ognen Vukojevic started together in the double pivot, while Ari came central to accommodate the return of Aiden McGeady. The match started with a series of early chances, with Yura Movsisyan putting a shot close over the bar before McGeady had a shot pull wide just before the quarter hour mark. It took until the 20th minute for Spartak to take their lead when a Dmitri Kombarov corner bounced around the box for Pavel Yakovlev to put away his first goal of the season from point-blank range. Minutes later, shots from Ari and Movsisyan came close, but Gerus was equal to the efforts of the Spartak players. From that point on, Spartak seemed content to sit deep and attack on the counter, however Vukojevic made a multitude of mistakes that came close to giving Amkar an equaliser, but the half finished without major incident.

No major changes occurred at the half and the match continued in much the same way as it had in the first period. The majority of Amkar's chances came via their left flank, as Maksim Kannunikov cut inside away from Evgenny Makeev to terrorise Vukojevic and further exploit his weaknesses. Movsisyan missed a near chance in the 48th minute from a McGeady cross that he really should have converted, whilst Peev came close from a half-volley six minutes later at the other end of the pitch. Movsiyan missed his fourth chance of the game less than a minute later after a Makeev cross, but managed to convert at the next time of asking as he tapped a long cross from Kombarov around Gerus to double Spartak's lead. For the most part, the match finished without another noteworthy moment, but Kannunikov continued to torture Vukojevic through the middle of the pitch until the 90th minute.

Man of the Match: Maksim Kannunikov
Kannunikov showed great intelligence in moving away from the effective Makeev and exploiting Vukojevic, the weak link in Spartak's midfield. Whilst the new transfer from Zenit was unable to affect the scoreline, he looked the most likely Amkar player to have a scoring impact and his movement drew players out of position, creating holes for other players across the pitch.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Zenit 1-0 Krylia: Zenit unimpressive in win over Krylia

Hulk was one of Zenit's few on-form players as the Saint Petersburg side struggled to a 1-0 home win over Krylia Sovetov Samara.

football formationsZenit had a flurry of early chances as they looked to stamp their dominance on a seemingly easy match against the perennial relegation candidates, but only managed to take the lead through a dubious penalty in the 14th minute. Hulk seemed to go down just inside the box with minimal contact, but the match official gave the penalty and the Brazilian converted low and to his right. Krylia however, were not deterred by the goal and pushed on, maintaining a fair share of possession for the rest of the half. Zenit's primary threat came from the right flank as Hulk and Aleksandr Anyukov combined well, but the left side looked vulnerable yet again as the hosts struggled with the absence of Domenico Criscito, Nicolas Lombaerts and Tomas Hubocan, being forced to field new signing, Mian Rodic, at left back. Zenit saw one last chance in the first period, when Aleksandr Kerzhakov sent a header straight at Sergei Veremko from two yards away, but the half finished without further incident.

The interval saw Vyacheslav Malafeev withdrawn from Zenit's lineup, although it is still unclear as to whether this was due to injury or some other factor. Krylia surprisingly managed several near-misses as Bruno Teles put a free kick on target before both Maksimov and Angbwa came close in the 68th minute. Another chance followed minutes later when Maksimov made an excellent challenge in Zenit's half before breaking through on goal, however Malafeev's replacement, Igor Baburin, closed down the striker brilliantly and prevented what seemed to be a certain goal. Rodic went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury late on and had to be replaced before Zenit finished out an ordinarily cagey match with another wasted chance from Kerzhakov.

Man of the Match: Hulk
Hulk built on his deadly partnership with Aleksandr Anyukov against Krylia. Although he appeared to go down easily to earn the penalty, he converted it well and was impressive throughout. The Brazilian was practically the only thing stopping Zenit from sinking to a bore draw or even a loss to the Samara side.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Doumbia makes return in 4-0 romping of Alania

CSKA Moscow's Ivorian striker, Seydou Doumbia, has made his return from a series of injuries to score his side's final goal in a 4 goal victory over Alania Vladikavkaz on Monday. Last season's Russian Premier League top scorer has suffered from multiple knee and back injuries that have kept him out of contention since August. Vagner Love continued his successful return to the club, laying on Alan Dzagoev's opener before scoring two of his own in the second half. Ahmed Musa had another quiet game and was replaced by Doumbia in the 75th minute. Doumbia looked rusty as one would expect after almost 6 months off, but his skill was evident as he turned the ball into the back of the net in stoppage time as Dzagoev turned provider.

Doumbia still appears to lack the fitness to play for a full 90 minutes, so another substitute appearance or a 60 minute run-out looks likely for next weekend, however CSKA will be buoyed by the return of one of their most successful ever players. Leonid Slutskiy will surely be hoping that Doumbia can re-ignite his fabled partnership with Love, especially as CSKA has lacked creativity of late in the absence of Keisuke Honda due to illness.