2013-14 Matchweek Recap 4: Rostov pull level on points with Spartak

This past matchweek has been somewhat more laid back and regular than that which we've experienced so far this season. Interestingly, all of the week's draws occurred on Sunday, where Rubin and Kuban each picked up their third draws of the season. Also, this matchweek only saw 2 penalties, rather than the 8, 5 and 6 in previous weeks.

Anzhi 0-1 Rostov

Rostov went ahead through Guelor Kanga Kaku despite having less of both chances and possession and successfully held their lead until the end of the match, meaning that Rostov remained undefeated and went level at the top of the league, while Anzhi have continued their woeful start to the season, still yet to have won a match. This was also the first game this season in which Artem Dzyuba has failed to score.

Volga 1-3 Zenit

Zenit went ahead in the 19th minute through Danny, although Andrei Karyaka equalised for Volga just 2 minutes later. Hulk was then sent off with 2 yellow cards in 3 minutes, however Danny scored 2 more in the final 10 minutes to seal the result.

Tom 1-2 Ural

Denis Tumasyan scored for Ural early, but conceded a penalty to allow Igor Portnyagin to equalise. However, Artur Sarkisov hit back just 5 minutes later to hand the result to Ural and give Tom Tomsk their fourth loss from four games.

Dynamo 1-0 Terek

Terek only managed 2 shots on target from 13 total, allowing Dynamo to take advantage of mostly even possession and get a winner through Christian Noboa in the 71st minute.

Rubin 0-0 CSKA

Neither side was able to take advantage in a fantastic back-and-forth match in which both sides played fantastically. Both sides defended superbly to stop any goals being scored as an excellent display of both last-ditch defending and counter-attacking football.

Amkar 0-0 Krylia

Amkar deserved to win this match, having had more chances and higher possession, yet both sides failed to have an impact on the scoring and witnessed the second goalless draw of the day, although somewhat less exciting than the first.

Kuban 2-2 Spartak

Spartak took the lead through Emmanuel Emenike on the half hour mark, although Kuban hit back through Xandao and Ibrahima Balde to go ahead 2-1. Valery Karpin introduced Yura Movsisyan immediately following Balde's goal and the change made an immediate difference as Movsisyan equalised just 4 minutes later. The match stayed at 2-2, despite possession being at 71%-29% in Spartak's favour.

Lokomotiv 3-1 Krasnodar

Lokomotiv completely dominated Krasnodar, having 19 shots to Krasnodar's 4. Krasnodar's central defenders in particular were very poor, with Artur Jedrzejczyk picking up a red card and Aleksandr Martynovich scoring an own goal. The remaining two goals were scored by Dame N'Doye and rare starter Vitali Denisov.

Table:

1 - Spartak

2 - Rostov

3 - CSKA

4 - Lokomotiv

5 - Zenit

6 - Dynamo

7 - Kuban

8 - Rubin

9 - Amkar

10 - Volga

11 - Krasnodar

12 - Ural

13 - Anzhi

14 - Krylia

15 - Terek

16 - Tom