Amkar 0-0 Lokomotiv: Two of Russia's best defences draw predictably

Amkar and Lokomotiv played out something of a predictable draw given the high quality of their defences, yet Amkar should still be happy with holding the league leaders to a draw.

Both managers made somewhat baffling selections in this match. Amkar's manager, Stanislav Cherchesov, continued his bizarre selection of Alexei Nikitin over Thomas Phibel in the centre of defence, and I really can't justify him playing Jakub Wawrzyniak over Dzhamaldin Kodzhaniyazov at left back either. Meanwhile, Lokomotiv's Mbark Boussoufa was dropped in favour of Magomed Ozdoev, presumably because the latter scored a decent goal against Krylia last weekend.

As was expected due to the excellent defences of these two teams, the match started slowly with neither side giving up any major chances. It was Amkar who had the first opportunity of the night as Wawrzyniak cleverly flicked on a Georgi Peev free kick and hit the post, but it wasn't long before Dame N'Doye went up the other end, hitting a shot on goal that was deflected off Dmitri Belorukov and saved easily by Sergei Narubin. The half continued without many chances until the 36th minute, when N'Doye was dragged down in the box by Nikitin, yet inexplicably no penalty was given. Amkar did end up having the final chance of the half however, as Maksim Kannunikov gathered up a long ball in the box, but was put off by pressure from Jan Durica and skied his shot in the final seconds of stoppage time.

The interval saw no changes for either side, but Amkar certainly came out of the gates with a renewed vigour and looked more likely to score. In the opening minutes of the second period, Aleksandr Kolomeitsev put a shot low across the face of goal, before N'Doye also came close just moments later. However, Amkar soon slowed down and the match returned to one of few chances, primarily given away by set pieces. Substitute Boussoufa came close with one such set piece, a free kick, while Lass Diarra flicked on a corner late on, but was unable to get it on target. Both managers attempted to change the game with substitutes as Loko brought on Roman Pavlyuchenko and Sergei Tkachev late on, while Amkar introduced Martin Jakubko and Patrick Twumasi, yet none of the four were able to make an impact on the match. Lokomotiv had one final chance late on when Amkar captain Belorukov gave away a free kick on the edge of the box in the final seconds of stoppage time, but the resulting effort from Aleksandr Samedov was disappointing and the match finished at 0-0.

Man of the Match: Vedran Corluka
As per usual, Corluka was on fine form and kept the opposing forwards quiet. His distribution from the back was excellent and he was absolutely dominant in the air. Surprisingly, he also had a few good runs forward, including one that won a free kick that Boussoufa came close from.

Honourable Mentions:
Roman Shishkin - Despite getting quite fired up over the course of the match, Shishkin was fantastic defensively and very good going forward. A solid match from the Loko captain.
Dmitri Belorukov - The Amkar captain was fantastic in defence as always and, despite his late foul, was well composed all match.
Janusz Gol - Solid in defence all match and controlled the little possession that Amkar had. The Polish midfielder's form has been good since the winter break after a disappointing first half of the season.

Notes:
- I'm impressed with Amkar's ability to keep this match level, but Lokomotiv's attack was completely toothless today. Dame N'Doye is far too inconsistent to be a top class forward (yes, he's even worse than Roman Pavlyuchenko in that respect).
- I really can't justify the selection of Alexei Nikitin over Thomas Phibel. Nikitin should've been sent off for that challenge on N'Doye and constantly failed to deal with crosses.
- Another selection that I'm not sure was right was Leonid Kuchuk selecting Magomed Ozdoev over Mbark Boussoufa. Ozdoev may have scored last week, but he's a selection for matches in which Loko is going to face a possession battle and want to keep the ball away from their opponents. For matches such as this, in which Amkar were never going to try and control possession, Boussoufa's a much better choice thanks to his great final ball and creativity.
- Maksim Kannunikov did seem rather isolated up front, and this wasn't really helped by his reluctance to drop deep. Peev, Ogude and Kolomeitsev usually have better service, but they were all kept relatively quiet by Loko's back line.

2013-14 Matchweek 20 Recap: Russian Premier League resumes with action aplenty

The Russian Premier League season resumed this past weekend with a plethora of action. Lokomotiv took a clear lead in the title chase while CSKA appear to have fallen completely out of contention. At the other end of the ladder, Anzhi finally picked up their first win of the season as they make a bid to stay out of the relegation places. Finally, Luciano Spalletti was fired from Zenit after a disappointing home draw with Tom Tomsk.

The formation plotting website I use is also acting up again, so my team of the week is as follows:
Lodygin; Logashov, Epureanu, Dealbert, Kudryashov; Georgiev, Dragun; Ogude, Dzagoev, Zhirkov; Doumbia

Krasnodar 0-1 Ural
Ural went ahead thanks to Gerson Acevedo's effort in the 19th minute (their only shot on target all game) and played excellent defence for the remainder of the match, but were let off the hook by Krasnodar's hopeless finishing as Joaozinho, Ari and Wanderson struggled for form.

Terek 1-0 Spartak
Terek took the lead in only the first minute thanks to Mauricio, and were able to park the bus for the remaining 90 minutes. Spartak looked likely to score throughout, but struggled to put shots on target and ultimately fell to the relegation battlers.

Dynamo 4-2 CSKA
CSKA took an early two goal lead through the brilliant play of Alan Dzagoev and Seydou Doumbia, but a collapse prompted by the excellent Yuri Zhirkov and a plethora of defensive mistakes allowed Dynamo to turn around the game and take the win in front of their home fans.

Anzhi 1-0 Rubin
Anzhi were on the back foot for almost the entire match and looked set to continue their season-long winless streak, however loanee Aleksandr Bukharov managed to score the winner less than 10 minutes from full time. Rubin sustained pressure on the hosts late on, but it wasn't enough to equalise and Anzhi finally picked up their first win of the season.

Zenit 0-0 Tom

Tom Tomsk impressively went toe to toe with the much bigger Zenit and had several good chances to score, but couldn't force an upset. Regardless, Zenit were also unable to score, and the disappointing result saw manager Luciano Spalletti lose his job with the St. Petersburg club.

Amkar 5-1 Volga
Amkar opened the scoring through Fedor Ogude and things declined quickly for Volga, losing two players to injury before the half hour mark. They did manage to equalise minutes later thanks to Luton Shelton, but the situation went significantly downhill from there. Georgi Peev scored a penalty for the hosts before Ogude scored his second, Maksim Kannunikov piled on the misery and a Marcin Kowalczyk own goal completed the rout, all in the closing minutes.

Lokomotiv 2-1 Krylia
Lokomotiv showed a ridiculous amount of dominance over Krylia and went ahead via Dame N'Doye early on, before substitute Magomed Ozdoev doubled their lead 15 minutes from time. It was only on a rare venture forward that Krylia scored, pulling one back through Stanislav Dragun right before the end of regulation time.

Rostov 0-0 Kuban
Rostov had control over the match for much of the 90 minutes but failed to have any real chances thanks to Kuban's solid defence. Meanwhile, the visitors attempted to hit on the counter, but they too failed to make an impact. Ultimately, Kuban's Lorenzo Melgarejo was sent off in stoppage time, but his side was able to wind down the last few minutes without conceding.

Table:
1 - Lokomotiv
2 - Zenit
3 - Spartak
4 - Dynamo
5 - CSKA
6 - Amkar
7 - Krasnodar
8 - Kuban
9 - Rostov
10 - Rubin
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Terek
14 - Tom
15 - Ural
16 - Anzhi

Dynamo 4-2 CSKA: Embarrassing capitulation rules CSKA out of title defence

CSKA have given up a two goal lead to lose 4-2 to Dynamo in the latest Moscow derby of the 2013-14 RPL season.

Both sides set up with their first choice lineups (see diagram), so there isn't really much to say about surprise inclusions or players missing due to injury/suspension. The only thing of note is that Alexei Kozlov made his Dynamo debut after joining from Kuban Krasnodar over the winter break, but I'll get to him a little later.

The match was very back and forth in the opening ten minutes, with Dynamo having two good chances and CSKA only being stopped by a slightly over-hit Seydou Doumbia pass. It wasn't long before Doumbia made up for his minor error as, in only the 12th minute, he skinned three Dynamo players and fired home a rocket of a shot from the edge of the box to give the visitors an early lead. Dynamo appeared to have the wind taken out of their sails by this, and Georgi Gabulov had to endure a flurry of CSKA chances over the following quarter of an hour, denying Zoran Tosic twice. However, things got even worse for the hosts as their brand new signing, Alexei Kozlov, pulled up short after challenging Ahmed Musa for the ball and had to be replaced. CSKA continued their attack following Kozlov's injury and came close through Alan Dzagoev, but were denied yet again by Gabulov. Gabulov couldn't hold out forever though, and Doumbia managed to get his second in the 43rd minute. Dzagoev beat two Dynamo defenders in the box and then sent the ball to the Ivorian, who finished perfectly with the outside of his boot to double CSKA's lead.

Halftime saw no personnel changes for either side, but Dynamo came out after the break looking significantly less incompetent than they had before the interval and as a result, they pulled one back with the first major chance of the half. The hosts built up play down the left flank and Yuri Zhirkov sent in a cross, which Kevin Kuranyi managed to get to first and head home from the edge of the 6-yard box. It wasn't long before Kuranyi had another header on target, but this time Akinfeev was able to reach it at full stretch to deny the German. For a few brief moments, CSKA looked like they were back on top as Georgi Schennikov stormed into Dynamo's box, beating four opposition players before being stopped by an excellent Christopher Samba tackle. Samba then continued his great performance by getting up the end and scoring the equaliser from a Marko Lomic cross. However, he suffered a head clash with Aleksandr Kokorin in the process of scoring, forcing him to come off and be replaced by Leandro Fernandez. Already staring at an embarrassing result, CSKA decided that conceding two goals wasn't enough, so only four minutes later they conceded a third, this time through Zhirkov, who controlled a Balazs Dzsudzsak cross and slotted it home. However, the goal arguably shouldn't have stood as Kokorin kicked Mario Fernandes in the face as the cross came in; an act which should have been given as a foul. It was only another six minutes before CSKA conceded again, this time thanks to a huge Igor Akinfeev error. The CSKA captain tried to lob the ball to Fernandes, yet failed to get it over Zhirkov who, all too easily, took the ball over Akinfeev and finished coolly for his second of the night.

Neither side really had any major chances for the rest of the match and it ended at 4-2. Dynamo's comeback from two goals down is an absolutely excellent demonstration of their class and attitude, whereas CSKA's utter capitulation is one of the most embarrassing defeats that the club has suffered in years. The champions now face an uphill battle to retain their title, sitting 6 points back from joint leaders Zenit and Lokomotiv, who both have a game in hand.

Notes:
- I really have no words for CSKA's awful collapse. They were dominant for most of the first half, only to fall apart after the interval. A real game of two halves.
- This defeat is unfortunately going to overshadow the excellent performances of Seydou Doumbia and Alan Dzagoev, who ran everything for CSKA in the first half. In particular, their combination on the second goal was beautiful.
- On that note, Doumbia and Dzagoev really deserve better wingers than Tosic and Musa. Tosic is ridiculously inconsistent and Musa appears to have lost a touch of the pace he relies on so much.
- Luke Wilkshire and Leandro Fernandez did surprisingly well after coming in for the injured Alexei Kozlov and Christopher Samba respectively.
- A lot of people are going to disagree with me over this, but I think other than that big error, Igor Akinfeev was on superb form. He had no chance to stop any of the other three goals and made several superb saves earlier in the match.

Man of the Match: Yuri Zhirkov
Zhirkov was a dangerous threat down Dynamo's left all night and ultimately got the best of the out of form Mario Fernandes. Zhirkov scored the final two goals for Dynamo to win and kill off the game, but also provided an assist for Kuranyi's goal with an excellent cross. It was also his cross that produced Kuranyi's second chance that was saved by Akinfeev.

Honourable Mentions:
Seydou Doumbia - Scored two fantastic goals to put CSKA up and continued his performance with some excellent skill throughout the night. His passing was a little astray though, over-hitting several passes for Ahmed Musa.
Alan Dzagoev - Bossed Dynamo's midfield for much of the first half and had an excellent assist for Doumbia's second goal. Dzagoev dropped deeper than usual this game and controlled the tempo of play. On another night, this would've easily been a man of the match performance.
Christopher Samba - Worked hard in defence and did well to get up the other end and score the equaliser. His match was unfortunately ended by that head clash, but he certainly deserves recognition for the time he did spend on the pitch.

Russian Premier League First Half Review

So now that we've all had a few weeks to sit back and reflect on the events of the first half of the Russian Premier League season, I think it's due time to complete my review on the teams and players that shocked fans of Russian football, both in positive and negative ways.

The Overachievers:

Lokomotiv Moscow:

After a decidedly disappointing 2012-13 campaign, the Railwaymen have turned around into their best season in recent memory on the back of some excellent signings, sitting in first place as of the winter break. Loko profited greatly from the exodus at Anzhi, signing Lassana Diarra and Mbark Boussoufa from the Dagestani club, and the duo have combined to great effect thus far. However, the team's true strength has been their superb defence, to which no new members have been introduced. Their typical back four of Roman Shishkin, Vedran Corluka, Jan Durica and Vitali Denisov has proven to be the best in the league and has given the team a solid foundation to build on top of in their push for the title.

Amkar Perm:

Amkar too have built their success this season on a solid defence, shooting up to an unprecedented 7th place, with Thomas Phibel and Dmitri Belorukov forming a dominant partnership in central defence. Amkar have struggled some up the other end however, scoring just 22 goals in 19 matches, the lowest of any team in the top half, with their reliance on Georgi Peev to score becoming startling at times. Regardless, it has been an impressive campaign for the side, and it will take a severe drop off in form to fall out of the top half.

Rostov:

Rostov have had something of a rollercoaster campaign, dishing out upsets to established teams before going on a ten game winless streak, but ultimately reaching the half way mark in a respectable 10th. Their success thus far has been based around a group of excellent loan signings from both Spartak and Lokomotiv, in particular Artem Dzyuba, who leads the league scoring charts with 12 goals. Meanwhile, Zhano Ananidze and Arseni Logashov have also upgraded the team for the time being and have shown great development in their time at Rostov, something that will undoubtedly please their parent clubs. Although they lack quality depth in many areas, Rostov can still put up a very good fight to finish in the top half provided they can become more consistent in the second half of the season.

Krylia Sovetov Samara:

Krylia are yet another team that have relied on good defence to reach their league position, sitting in 11th but on equal points with the three teams above them. Krylia's back four has certainly performed well above expectations considering the lack of midfield protection in front of them, while their disappointing forward line has not done much to help the club's league position either. Regardless, Krylia have the potential to build and could push Rubin, Kuban and Rostov for a top half spot, given a few choice signings in midfield and on the wings.

The Underachievers:

Anzhi Makhachkala:

The withdrawal of funding from Anzhi by their owner, Suleyman Kerimov, has led to an exodus the likes of which have never seen before in modern football and has ultimately led to the complete collapse of the club's first team. With no wins in 19 games, Anzhi has looked completely and utterly incapable of staying in the league, and it looks like it will get even worse for them with the departure of Lacina Traore, by far their best player, to Monaco. I can't see anything for them but relegation this year.

Terek Grozny:

After an impressive 2012-13 campaign in which Terek managed a top half finish, many thought that they might be able to push on and challenge for a European place, but the team has regressed and now finds itself languishing down in 14th place. Normally solid contributors like Igor Lebedenko and Maciej Rybus have struggled to make an impact, while the fact that Zaur Sadaev is actually playing tells the whole story about Terek's lack of quality at striker. This lack of quality up front will continue to cause them problems if it goes unsolved, and I imagine that they won't manage to pull out of the relegation playoff places.

Rubin Kazan:

Rubin have, like Lokomotiv and Amkar, tried to base their team around a solid defence, doing well in that respect but struggling in the goalscoring department. Their aging defence has conceded the least goals in the league, helped considerably by the incredibly defensive midfield pairing of Bibras Natkho and Yann M'Vila, but the lack of fitness of Salomon Rondon has forced the team to field inferior strikers. Providing their defence can remain solid and Rondon can find some semblance of fitness, they could challenge for a European spot, but mid-table seems more likely at this stage.

CSKA Moscow:

Just half a season removed from winning the title, CSKA look like a shadow of their former selves and sit in 5th, 6 points off the top. The departure of Vagner Love hit the team hard, especially due to Seydou Doumbia's injury struggles, while other injuries to Mario Fernandes and Alan Dzagoev have seriously damaged the team's title hopes, as shown by the excellent performances of these players when fit. Certain players, such as Igor Akinfeev, Georgi Schennikov, Pontus Wernbloom and Zoran Tosic, have managed to keep some fantastic form, but they are unable to carry the team on its own and the return to fitness of other key players is vital to their ever-slimming title chances.

The Players:

Artem Dzyuba:

Artem Dzyuba has stunned RPL fans this season, notching up an excellent 12 goals and 2 assists for Rostov, on loan from Spartak. For many a year, Dzyuba was shoehorned into a withdrawn striker role that limited his effectiveness at Spartak, and he fell behind players like Welliton and Emmanuel Emenike in the pecking order. His loan to Rostov has been something of a rebirth however, as he's been allowed to play as a lone striker, using his strength and good hold up play to bring others into the attack and become arguably the best striker in the RPL right now.

Hulk:

After something of a lacklustre first season in which he struggled with personal issues, Hulk has finally found his footing at Zenit, notching up an impressive 9 goals and 4 assists in 14 matches. After playing in his natural right wing role for all of his first season and much of this one, Zenit manager Luciano Spalletti experimented with Hulk as a lone striker, which paid off as he made the position his own in Aleksandr Kerzhakov's absence due to injury and abysmal form. If Hulk can keep up this pace and versatility, I see very few reasons why he can't lead Zenit to the title.

Vitali Denisov:

One of the things that could potentially stand in Hulk's march to the title is Lokomotiv's Uzbek left back, Vitali Denisov. Since joining Loko on a free in January, Denisov has done nothing but impress, with his fantastic pace and crossing ability providing an effective attacking outlet down the left flank in addition to a strong defensive presence. Denisov has most certainly been the best left back in the league this season, outperforming better known names like Georgi Schennikov, Domenico Criscito, Christian Ansaldi and Dmitri Kombarov. If Lokomotiv are to maintain their title ambitions, Denisov will need to keep fit and performing well.

Jose Manuel Jurado:

After being competent, if not brilliant, on loan at Spartak from Schalke last season, Jose Manuel Jurado was brought in permanently by the Moscow club and has repaid them well for their faith. Jurado has been an essential link in Spartak's attack this season, providing an essential supply line to Yura Movsisyan, which has been a large reason why the Armenian has succeeded this season. In addition to his creative tendencies, Jurado put in one of the best individual performances of the season, scoring a hat-trick and providing an assist in the 4-1 win over Dynamo, a performance only challenged by Alan Dzagoev in CSKA's 1-0 win over Kuban and Zhano Ananidze in Rostov's 4-0 demolition of Volga the following day.

Thomas Phibel:

Key to Amkar's impressive defence this season, Thomas Phibel has found his feet immediately following his transfer from Polish club Widzew Lodz. The 27 year old Frenchman has been a rock at the heart of Amkar's ambitious and dangerous high line and has done his job to perfection, leading the league in clearances and offsides won, as well as being an impressive distributor from the back. After impressing greatly at Amkar, it would not be surprising in the least if Phibel is snapped up this summer by a bigger RPL team in need of a centre back, such as CSKA or Zenit.

Team of the Half Season:

Yuri Lodygin - Zenit St. Petersburg:
19 matches, 6 clean sheets.

Arseni Logashov - Rostov (on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow):
13 matches, 1 goal, 0 assists.

Vedran Corluka - Lokomotiv Moscow:
18 matches, 1 goal, 1 assist.

Thomas Phibel - Amkar Perm:
11 matches, 1 goal, 0 assists.

Vitali Denisov - Lokomotiv Moscow:
13 matches, 1 goal, 4 assists.

Dmitri Tarasov - Lokomotiv Moscow:

17 matches, 4 goals, 1 assist.
Christian Noboa - Dynamo Moscow:

19 matches, 5 goals, 3 assists.
Hulk - Zenit St. Petersburg:

14 matches, 9 goals, 4 assists.
Jose Manuel Jurado - Spartak Moscow:

18 matches, 6 goals, 1 assist.
Danny - Zenit St. Petersburg:

15 matches, 10 goals, 7 assists.
Artem Dzyuba - Rostov (on loan from Spartak Moscow):
17 matches, 12 goals, 2 assists.



I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who made it this far. Check back here in a few weeks time for my preview of the second half of the season and after that for the return of my regular weekly content.

2013-14 Matchweek 19 Recap: Slimmest of margins in title chase as winter break begins

Results this past weekend drew the chase for the league title down to the finest of margins, with both Lokomotiv and Zenit level on points but separated by 1 goal difference going into the winter break. Spartak are also right in the battle, trailing the leading two by a single point. Be sure to check back here over the coming weeks as there will be some reviews of the first half of the season and previews for what to expect when the Russian Premier League returns in March.

Krasnodar 1-0 CSKA
CSKA exerted heavy pressure on Krasnodar early in the match, but were forced to relent when Keisuke Honda sustained an injury in the dying minutes. The hosts came out swinging after the interval and Artur Jedrzejczyk got what proved to be the winner at the end of a fast and well-worked build up play, however the goal should have been called offside. The visitors returned to the forefront of the match late on, with Alan Dzagoev coming close to a winner, but the solid Krasnodar defence held on for the win.

Zenit 2-1 Ural
Zenit was dominant early on in this match and it paid off in the 12th minute, when Denis Tumasyan tried to clear a cross from Domenico Criscito, but the ball fell to Hulk, who finished coolly. Strangely, it was Hulk who also gave Ural their best chance of the first half, losing the ball in his own box to allow Aleksandr Stchanitsin to fire a shot across the face of goal. The second half started in much the same manner that the first had ended, with Ural pushing forward in search of a goal, and they finally succeeded in the 55th minute. After a foul on the edge of the Zenit box, Aleksandr Erokhin took a quick free kick, flicking the ball over Zenit's stunned defence for Spartak Gogniev, who rounded the keeper and equalised. Despite Ural forcing themselves back into the match, it was Zenit who had the final say, as Hubocan finished well from within the box from an Axel Witsel cross to take the three points.

Volga 1-2 Krylia
Initially, Volga appeared to have bounced back from their devastating 6-1 loss to Spartak last week, taking the lead via Marcin Kowalczyk and effectively controlling the match. However, as the match progressed, Krylia hit back on counter-attacks, first equalising through the excellent Luis Caballero, before substitute Artem Delkin hit the winner in the final minute of regular time.

Anzhi 0-0 Kuban
Once again, Anzhi were abjectly poor, allowing Kuban to control the match before the hosts missed the simplest of chances to pick up their first win of the season. In stoppage time, Roman Bugaev gave away a penalty for fouling Ilya Maksimov, an action which also resulted in Bugaev receiving a yellow. In the resulting uproar from the Kuban players, Bugaev received his second yellow, as did Charles Kabore, both for dissent. Now with a penalty and their opponents down to nine men, Anzhi had the perfect chance to grab a win, but Maksimov missed the penalty and Kuban were able to hold on for a draw.

Lokomotiv 0-0 Rubin
Neither side were particularly threatening in this match, with not a single shot on target coming from either side. Lokomotiv held the ball well, but had Lassana Diarra sent off for two yellows in stoppage time. That's about all there is to say about this match.

Rostov 0-1 Spartak
Despite two of their best players, Artem Dzyuba and Zhano Ananidze, being ineligible for this match as loanees from Spartak, Rostov matched the Moscow side blow for blow for the majority of the match. With the match winding down, it looked as though Rostov would again get a good result against top opposition, before Waris Majeed got his first goal for Spartak off a corner to snatch a win in the dying minutes.

Dynamo 2-0 Amkar
Amkar were impressively even with Dynamo for the majority of the match, but were punished by Kevin Kuranyi on several counter-attacks. First it was a header off a Yuri Zhirkov cross, before the German's excellent penalty resigned the visitors to a loss in a match that they arguably deserved a point from.

Terek 2-0 Tom
Terek looked confident for perhaps the first time this season, going ahead through Jeremy Bokila's tap-in in the 20th minute. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Vladimir Kisenkov was sent off for a second yellow. With the game winding down, Tom Tomsk's misery was compounded when Petr Vasek was sent off and a penalty was awarded to the hosts. Vladimir Rykov, forced to deputise at keeper as Tom had no substitutions available, was unable to save Ailton's good penalty and the match ended with Terek's second victory of the season.

Table:
1 - Lokomotiv
2 - Zenit
3 - Spartak
4 - Dynamo
5 - CSKA
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Amkar
8 - Rubin
9 - Kuban
10 - Rostov
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Tom
14 - Terek
15 - Ural
16 - Anzhi

Dynamo 2-0 Amkar: Visitors punished on counters

Dynamo pulled away to a 2-0 home victory over Amkar, dragging their table position up to fourth going into the winter break.


Dynamo lined up with no major surprises, the only change from last week's 3-0 win over Ural being the inclusion of Christopher Samba over Alan Kasaev, pushing Vladimir Granat to left back and Yuri Zhirkov up to Kasaev's left wing spot. Amkar were also largely unchanged, the only difference from their loss to Rubin on Monday being the inclusion of Ivan Cherenchikov at centre back due to Dmitri Belorukov's suspension.

The opening half an hour was a rather dull affair, with neither side willing to push forward and risk an opposing counter-attack. As a result, possession was even and shots were fairly limited before the match really started to open up in the 35th minute. Balazs Dzsudzsak had a good free kick deflected wide for a goal kick, despite coming off an Amkar player before going out. Mere minutes later, Yuri Zhirkov played an excellent ball in for Aleksandr Kokorin, yet the ball got caught up in his feet before a finish could be applied, allowing Thomas Phibel to clear the danger. This was immediately followed by Kevin Kuranyi being sent through on goal by a fantastic pass from Christian Noboa, but it was given as offside in an extremely questionable decision. Regardless, it proved to be the last chance of the half for either side.

The only change at the half was the removal of Kokorin in favour of Vladimir Dyadyun, a decision that paid off almost immediately. A defensive blunder sent both Dyadyun and Kuranyi into the box mere seconds into the half, but Dyadyun was unable to control Kuranyi's flick-on, and the chance came to nothing. The following minutes went the complete other way however, as Amkar pressured well. Maksim Kannunikov played an excellent cross for Georgi Peev, who was only inches away from getting a touch on it and potentially directing it goalwards. It was at this point that Dynamo finally took advantage of Amkar's large numbers in attack, starting a very fast counter-attack that ultimately had the ball end up with Zhirkov on the left wing. The Russian international played a lofted cross in for the onrushing Kuranyi, who headed down past Sergei Narubin to give Dynamo the lead. The goal gave Dynamo the confidence to push forward, and Amkar were forced firmly onto the back foot, struggling to effectively build up attacks or withstand the pressure from the hosts. Amkar finally got back into the game about 10 minutes later, pushing forward well but lacking the final ball time and time again. After a spell of sustained pressure from the visitors, a Dynamo counter led to Martin Jakubko giving away a penalty, which Kuranyi converted excellently to take his brace and close out the scoring.

Notes:
 - Despite playing four at the back, Dynamo quite often looked like they were playing three centre backs, due to Luke Wilkshire's constant (and poorly executed) bombing up the right flank and Vladimir Granat's disposition to drift centrally.
- Aleksandr Kokorin was absolutely battered in the first half, soaking up foul after foul. I suspect this is a large reason why he was very ineffective and looked off the pace.
- Contrastingly, upon being substituted on, Vladimir Dyadyun was incredibly effective. Rather than sitting behind Kuranyi and constantly coming deep for the ball like Kokorin, Dyadyun pushed up alongside the German and pressured the Amkar defence.
- Speaking of the Amkar defence, they were really confident in dribbling out of the back. While it sometimes came back to bite them (such as for Dzsudzsak's excellent free kick in the 35th minute), it also paid off as they were able to maintain possession for extended periods.

Man of the Match: Kevin Kuranyi
Opened the scoring with an excellent header past Sergei Narubin, before killing off the match with an excellent penalty into the top left corner. Kuranyi was always dangerous, making several runs in behind the defence to latch onto through balls from Christian Noboa and Igor Denisov.

Honourable Mentions:
Christian Noboa - Certainly the most creative player on the pitch for either side, he was constantly looking for the perfect ball to start a counter or break through Amkar's defence, and succeeded on numerous occasions.
Thomas Phibel - A rock at the heart of Amkar's defence, he distributed well from the back. However, he did look shaky in the air and could have been sent of for an "accidental" hit on Balazs Dzsudzsak in the second half.

2013-14 Matchweek 18 Recap: Loko go top of table while Spartak score 6

I miscalculated the times of the matches this week, so there won't be a match report unfortunately. In actual news, Lokomotiv have finally moved to first place in the league, Spartak obliterated Volga and CSKA were held to a draw by Rostov.

Dynamo 3-0 Ural
Dynamo and Ural were mostly even in terms of possession, but the hosts were certainly the more attacking of the two sides. After a goalless half hour, Vladimir Granat put Dynamo in front off a corner, however this was the only goal of the half. It didn't take nearly as long after the break for Dynamo to score their second, as Kevin Kuranyi extended their lead after just 12 minutes. Just 9 minutes later, Ural gave away a penalty but Kokorin's effort was saved by replacement keeper Aleksei Solosin. Regardless, Kokorin made up for his error with a tricky finish 3 minutes later to close out the scoring.

Terek 1-1 Zenit
With a surprisingly weak effort going forward from Zenit in the first half, the game went into the interval scoreless, but it didn't remain that way for long after the break. Igor Lebedenko put Terek ahead in the 51st minute with a wonderful (and deflected) strike off a corner that fell to him at the edge of the box. Zenit struggled for an equaliser and it took Axel Witsel's excellent shot from the edge of the box 12 minutes from time to bring the scores level and salvage a point.

Krylia 1-0 Krasnodar
Although neither side was particularly limp in attack, this match remained scoreless for over an hour, due in part to both excellent goalkeeping and bad luck. With the clock running down, it was Krylia who struck via Stanislav Dragun, who slotted away coolly when Aleksandr Filtsov's attempt at a clearance fell to him. Krylia were then able to shut up shop and hold their lead to take what can only be seen as an impressive victory.

Spartak 6-1 Volga
This one progressed just as the scoreline suggests, with complete and total dominance from Spartak. Jose Jurado scored the first two goals, including opening the scoring within 3 minutes. Lucas Barrios followed up, scoring his first for Spartak just before half time, while Aras Ozbiliz was up next, scoring the fourth and putting the game well beyond doubt. Dmitri Bulykin missed a penalty, before Matija Dvornekovic finally pulled one back for the visitors. Nonetheless, Spartak continued scoring as Ozbiliz grabbed his second before Denis Kolodin finished the scoring with an own goal to give Spartak a fantastic five goal win.

Anzhi 0-2 Tom
Anzhi's hopeless run continued although they looked significantly better than they have thus far this season. After dominating the possession and chances for most of the first half, the hosts went behind as Kirill Panchenko finished well from the edge of the box. It was Mikhail Komkov who killed off the game just 2 minutes after being substituted on with a powerful low shot.

Rostov 0-0 CSKA
Rostov were the better side for the majority of the match, controlling possession and having more chances, yet they were unable to find a way through. The most interesting feature of this match was actually the returns of Zhano Ananidze and Alan Dzagoev from injury.

Kuban 1-3 Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv had an excellent opening 30 minutes to go up by three goals. Maicon opened the scoring for Loko after just 4 minutes, finishing coolly, before Vedran Corluka extended the lead with a header 10 minutes later. Mbark Boussoufa finished off the scoring for the visitors after an excellent build up play, and Loko were more than happy to sit back and defend for the rest of the match. Djibril Cisse pulled one back in the final minutes, but it was far too little, far too late for the hosts.

Rubin 3-0 Amkar
Bibras Natkho opened the scoring just before half time for the hosts, but it was the substitutions that really made a difference for Rubin. Salomon Rondon and Oleg Kuzmin were introduced off the bench at different points in the second half, and they each scored less than 2 minutes after coming on to take a solid home win.

Table:
1 - Lokomotiv
2 - Zenit
3 - Spartak
4 - CSKA
5 - Dynamo
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Amkar
8 - Rostov
9 - Kuban
10 - Rubin
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Tom
14 - Ural
15 - Terek
16 - Anzhi