Week 5 (APR. 4-11, 2011)
RFPL R4
Round 4 matches in the Russian Premier League were somewhat dry on goals and lacked meaningful excitement. The game between the champions and the runners-up ended in a controversial 1:1 draw. The St. Petersburg side didn’t have a home-grown player born in 1990 or later in their roster, which resulted in an automatic defeat. The game in itself was fairly even, with each side showing attacking flare from time to time. Mark Gonzalez opened the scoring with a well taken shot on the 32nd minute, but the home side leveled the score right before the half with a well taken goal by Zyrianov. Both sides had good chances in the second half but the game ended in a fair draw.
In other matches FC Krasnodar continued its unbeaten start to the campaign with a 1:0 win over Amkar. The game between Krylia and Locomotive ended in the same score line in favor of the Samara side. The game was played in Samara, where the pitch still hasn’t recovered from the winter months. Contrary to the score line both teams had number of good chances especially in the second half. After a dismal first half, Krylia started the second half with more purpose than their Moscow opponents. A mistake by the Locomotive defense and the keeper late in the game allowed Dzhorzhevic to slide the winning goal leaving the Moscow side empty handed once again. The Moscow side is still trying to find their style of play producing good football only on rare occasions. Lack of concentration in the last minutes, have cost points for Locomotive in the last two games.
Three matches ended in 0:0 draws, most notably a lackluster performance by Rubin Kazan at home to Spartak-Nalchik. After the game Runib’s head coach Berdyiev admitted that his side’s performance was the worst he has seen in a while.
Following a humiliating away defeat to FC Porto, Spartak-Moscow drew 0:0 with Terek Groznyi.
The game that produced the most goals was another strong victory for the newly promoted Volga away at Rostov. The win on Sunday puts Volga at the top of the league after four games. At the bottom in addition to Tom Tomsk, who is yet to score a goal are Krylia Sovetov. Spartak-Moscow who started the season the worst way possible are also close to the abyss.
UFPL R24
The weekend games both in Russia and especially in Ukraine were characterized by murky weather, with light rainfall throughout the weekend. The Friday afternoon game between Zorya and Metalist started in the above described atmosphere. The game was played in Donetsk since Zorya’s home stadium hasn’t recovered from cold March weather, and lack of under-soil heating means that the side from Lugansk won’t be playing any home games this spring. In the first half the side from Kharkiv looked a lot stronger, unlucky not to score on few occasions and even hitting the post. The begging of the second half determined the outcome of the game; Marco Devic came on during the second half and proved a real difference for the away side. Zoriya was struggling to keep Metalist at bay, with most attacks coming from the right side. One of these attacks resulted in an opening goal. Metalist’s Argentinean fullback Villagra stormed down the right side and with plenty of time and space slid the ball past Zorya’s keeper. The second goal came only few minutes later when striker Marco Devic pounced on the carefully threaded ball from Brazilian midfielder Cleiton Xavier. This was Marco’s 50th goal in the league and a first defeat in the year for the Lugansk side.
On Saturday PFC Sevastopol produced a great performance by beating Volyn 4:1, all after falling 0:1 behind early in the first half. As strange as it may sound 3 of the 5 goals came from penalties. In other Saturday matches Dnipro had a easy outing over Vorskla 2:0, both goals came from league’s top scorer Seleznev. Tavria got a crusial 2:1 away win over fellow European spot hopefuls FC Arsenal. The Kyiv side went ahead on the 4th minute through a good strike by Romanian international Mazilu. But the Crimean side came back with two goals from young, former Shakhtar youth team midfielder Stanislav Prychynenko. In the second half both teams created little and the Crimean side came out with all 3 points. After this win Tavriya moves into 6th spot above Arsenal.
After a terrible away defeat at FC Barcelona in the Champions League Shakhtar lost for the first time at home in two years. This was also Shakhtar’s first defeat at Donbass Arena, which is their home since September of 2009. Shakhtar suffered a 0:1 defeat to one of the smallest and least decorated top level teams in Obolon Kyiv. It is also Shakhtar second loss to Obolon this season in the league, the first came in September with the same score line at Obolon Arena. Obolon’s newly revamp home stadium holds only around 5,000 spectators compared to 50,000 plus Donbass Arena. In March during the international break Kovalet’s side took a stadium tour of the Donbass Arena. In the post game interview Obolon’s coach noted that playing in the arena is like visiting a play in a theatre. Obolon was also the first league opposition Shakhtar faced in the new stadium in 2009, that night the club from Donetsk came out with a 4:0 victory. Going back to the game Shakhtar made 7 substitutions to the side that started at Barcelona four days prior. Shakhtar as expected dominated the first half and created a half a dozen good chances. At the half the Donetsk side brought on its influential captain Dario Srna who limped off the field thirteen minutes later with a minor injury. Three minutes later the visitors were reduced to 10 men after Panas received his second yellow. This meant that the Kyiv side would attack even less and hope that Shakhtar doesn’t find a way to score. On the 73rd minute Obolon suffered another blow; keeper Rybka who was having an excellent game was injured in one of the episodes and was substituted for an inexperienced 20-year old Berezovskyy. Shakhtar continued to mount pressure to the visitors but the goal wouldn’t come and 0:0 was eminent. But the away side had other ideas; as the time was winding down Shakhtar midfielder Mkhitaryan committed a silly foul close to the penalty box and the substitute Kucherenko put away a superb free-kick to give his side an unprecedented lead at Donbass Arena with less than five minutes to go. After the goal Shakhtar mounted few decent attacks, but it was the visitors who were celebrating a tremendous away win at the unlikeliest places in the Ukrainian Premier League.
The surprise results continued on Sunday. Dynamo was held to a 1:1 draw away at the bottom side Metalurg Zaporizhzha. The sides started on equal keel, and the home side was unlucky to be ahead in the middle of the half when a superb goal was wrongly ruled offside. The home side did go ahead right before the half when 18 year Metalurg midfielder Tsurikov finished a good play from Metalurg’s midfield. A minute into the second half the teams were even when superb individual effort by club veteran Shevchenko who came on at the half leveled the score line. Both sides had good chances in the second half but a draw probably was a fair result. Also to note that Dynamo started many bench players who didn’t play in Europa League game. In another Sunday match Karpaty easily defeated FC Illichivets 3:1, although the away side went ahead on the 7th minute thanks to a free-kick from Kostyantyn Yaroshenko. In the final match of round 24, Metalurg Donetsk suffered a surprising 1:0 defeat to Kryvbas, who earned their first win in 14 league games. The first 30 minutes of the game Metalurg looked rather languid. The home side didn’t create much either but went ahead on 12th minute with a superb header from Beloruss international Voronkov who was between two Metalurg defenders when the ball was crossed. Metalurg was much better in the second half, but didn’t create enough chances to level the score. In the end of the day Kryvbas gets three valuable points that keeps the side just above the relegation zone. On the other hand Metalurg slides down the table away from the last Europa League spot.
Here are the rankings for the week, note the full start of Belorussian league.
1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 5-3 out 8
2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 6-2 out 10
3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS) 3-3 out 9
4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 6-2 out 10
5. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) 5-3 out 10
6. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) 2-2 out 6
7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) 2-2 out 7
8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL) 2-0 out 4
9. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 2-1 out 5
10. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS) 1-2 out 4
11. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS) 2-2 out 4
12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR) 3-1 out 5
13. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD) 8-1 out 11
14. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR) 2-0 out 5
15. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS) 1-1 out 4
16. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR) 1-1 out 5
17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS) 1-2 out 4
18. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR) 2-2 out 5
19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 2-1 out 5
20. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR) 2-1 out 5
21. FC Volga Nizhniy-Novgorod (RUS) 3-1 out 3
22. FC Krasnodar (RUS) 2-0 out 4
23. FC Zorya Lugansk (UKR) 2-1 out 5
24. FC Kuban Krasnodar (RUS) 2-2 out 3
25. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR) 0-4 out 5
It looks like it is the last time we will see Volyn Lutsk in top 25, although their league position may still get them a spot in Europe.
Week 4 (MAR. 28- APR. 4, 2011)
RFPL R3
Week 3 in the Russian Premier League provided a full bag of surprises. First and foremost, non of the top 6 clubs in the land have won a game. On the other hand new comers won’t cease to amaze, taking points away from the household names.
We start with Dinamo Moscow’s trip to Nizhnii-Novgorod. The Moscov side just came off a comfortable win at home to Rostov, but the huge number of traveling fans were very disappointed from the game on Volga river. There was little to remember from the first half, both side created little. Dinamo had better chances with two close affords at the end of the half. At the half Volga made one substitution, which added more pace on the left flank that proved crucial for home side. Two quick goals in two minute period decided the outcome of the game. First, Tursunov pounced on the miss handled free-kick by Dinamo defense. The assist came from Hodzhaba who himself finished a counter attack only few minutes later. The third goal came only ten minutes later, which sealed second consecutive victory for the promoted side. The goal came just before Dinamo boss made a tactical change by introducing second striker, which proved too late for Moscow side to salvage any points. For his contribution to the first two goals Hodzhba got the man of the match honors, but some praise should also be given to Volga manager Tetradze who made changes at a vital point of the game.
Two other Moscow sides Locomotive and CSKA drew 1:1 at home (on the same pitch one day apart) with Rostov and Krasnodar respectably. This was Rostov’s third game in a row against a Moscow side, second on the road. Throughout the game Locomotive showed better football and created a number of good chances but only converted one in the middle of the first half. Rostov played patiently and converted probably their only real opportunity late in the game; former Spartak player Grigoriev pounced on the cross in the 6-yard box to level the score on the 83rd minute. The game between CSKA and Krasnodar the next day followed a similar scenario. The Moscow side got ahead half way through the first half but conceded a sloppy goal in the beginning of the second period. For the rest of the game CSKA pressed Krasnodar’s defense, but didn’t convert chances they created. Krasnodar produced little up front in the second half, but they are very happy to get out of Moscow with a point in the bag.
Spartak Moscow produced another doll display this time away at Kuban. Spartak conceded a late penalty to go behind at the half, but a quick restart for the Moscow side evened the score on the 49th minute. As the game moved deep into the second half, Spartak looked more flat and created little at the Kuban’s goal. On the other hand the Krasnodar side played more comfortably and with pace, which produced two more goals. Deservedly the home side came with a good win, giving the Moscow side their second league defeat in three games.
Current champions Zenit only managed a point away at Nalchik. The St. Petersburg side went ahead twice in the game, but persistent play from the home side ensured share of the spoils. The equalizer for the home side came on the 88th minute by free kick from Roman Kontsedalov.
In other matches Anzhi grabbed their first win at home to Rubin, the sole goal coming courtesy of Czech striker Jan Holenda on the 7th minute. Terek Groznyi also grabbed their first victory of the campaign on Monday with a 2:0 victory over Tom. The game between two struggling clubs Amkar and Krylia ended in a 1:1 draw.
UFPL R23
The weekend in Ukraine opened on Friday in Mariupol, where the home side Illichivets faced champions Shakhtar. The away side dominated early proceedings and got ahead half way through the half with a goal from Srna. Second half was also dominated by Shakhtar who will face FC Barcelona on Wednesday in the Champion League. The Donetsk side doubled their advantage on the 53rd minute with a goal by Luis Adriano. After the second goal the home side finally awakened and started to counter Shakhtar’s constant threats. The home side pulled one goal back on the 57th. Young Budkivskyy who was a top scorer in the reserves league for Shakhtar got his first goal in the top flight. His inclusion in the starting eleven was possibly because Antonov, Illichivet’s first choice striker received a serious injury the previous week. Shakhtar continued dominate the play, the home side rarely bothered Pyatov’s goal. Shakhtar finished off the game in the added time with a close strike from substitute Douglas Costa. Illichivets defense once again was standing and watching how the Brazilian scored.
On Saturday Tavriya and Zorya produced a dull display that helped neither side. Both teams had good chances to win it, Tavriya coming close in last minutes. No winner was produced in Kyiv derby. The home side was unlucky to take all three points after they went ahead on the 60th minute with a goal from Borys Baranets. The equalizer came in the stoppage time with Arzhanov scoring for the ‘visitors’. Dynamo had no problems against struggling Kryvbass scoring three time. In the central game of the weekend Dnipro visited Metalurg Donetsk who is fighting to grab the sixth spot. First goal came on the 2nd minute when Nazarenko, who deputized for injured Konoplyanka finished from outside the box with an assist from Gladkyy who headed the ball from a throw-in. The home side equalized only few minutes later with a strike from a twenty year old striker Ivanko who scored his first ever goal for the first team. The score remained equal until 72nd minute when Cheneryachko was fouled in the Metalurg box, Nazarenko provided a cool finish from the spot to grab his second goal. But only three minutes later Dnipro defense again proved unreliable; during a corner Dnipro keeper saved a good shot from Adi but Adeley was first to slot the ball into top of the net from close range. Only few minutes later Metalurg organized a quick counter-attack where substitute Golaydo slotted a good pass into Dnipro’s goal. Metalurg earned probably their biggest win of the season and if the team continues in that direction the fans should expect higher position in the table.
On Sunday Vorskla had little trouble at home with PFC Sevastopol scoring four times. Although the score-line flatters the home side, Sevastopol showed little to earn any points. The visitors remain without an away win this season as they continue their fight to avoid relegation. In the western region derby game Karpaty easily took apart Volyn Lutsk. The visitors were 2:0 up after only 33rd minutes, both goals coming from energetic Kozhanov. No positives can be given to the home side who are struggling to score in the spring campaign. In the final game of the weekend Metalist left little on the field against the bottom side Metalurg. The visitors played well the first half, but two early goals from Taison in the second half killed the intrigue in the game. Shelyaev finished the scoring in the stoppage time with a superb strike from outside the box.
Here are the rankings after this week.
1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 4-1 out 5
2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 6-2 out 8
3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS) 3-3 out 7
4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 5-2 out 7
5. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) 5-1 out 7
6. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) 2-1 out 4
7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) 0-2 out 5
8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL) 1-0
9. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS) 1-1 out 2
10. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS) 1-1 out 2
11. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 1-0 out 3
12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR) 1-1 out 3
13. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD) 6-0 out 8
14. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS) 1-1 out 2
15. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR) 1-0 out 3
16. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR) 1-0 out 3
17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS) 1-1 out 2
18. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR) 1-1 out 3
19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 0-1 out 3
20. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR) 1-1 out 3
21. FC Zorya Lugansk (UKR) 2-0 out 3
22. FC Tom Tomsk (RUS) 0-2
23. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR) 0-2 out 3
24. FC Krasnodar (RUS) 1-0 out 3
25. FC Volga Nizhniy-Novgorod (RUS) 1-1 out 2
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