The decisive goal in the 91st minute, four removal and an unbeaten penalty: how Ufa and Lokomotiv snatched wins in the RPL

Miranchuk's beautiful goal and Nikolic’s successful debut

The meeting between Lokomotiv and Orenburg in Cherkizovo was the first for the new red-green coach Marco Nikolic. Ilshat Aitkulov also held the first game since he was appointed acting the trainer.

Fans of the railway workers, as expected, met Nikolic not in the warmest way. At the beginning of the match, they chanted the name of Yuri Semin, and after the 20th minute left the stands.

This did not prevent the hosts to score three most important points in the fight for silver and a direct ticket to the group stage of the Champions League. Victory in red and green brought the exact blow of Alexei Miranchuk near the end of the first half. After Rifat Zhemaletdinov’s discount, the midfielder twisted the shell into the near corner and chalked up the sixth goal of the current RPL season.

This ball was the only one in this meeting. But the game turned out to be rich in cards. Judge Stanislav Vasiliev immediately showed 13 yellow, three of which were transformed into red.

In addition to the first half, the Lokomotiv unexpectedly remained in the minority. The author of the assist of Zhemaletdinov stepped on Vitaly Shakhov’s foot and received a second card.

The lineups equalized after the break, with Daniel Mishkich removed in a rather controversial episode. At the 57th minute, the referee awarded a penalty to the gate of “Orenburg” for a Croatian foul on Grzegorz Krychowyak and showed him the second “mustard”. However, after watching the replay, the arbiter reversed his decision, since a little earlier in this moment Murilo violated the rules on the opponent. At the same time, Mishkich’s card remained valid, and he left the field.

Five minutes before the final whistle, another Orenburg footballer Andrei Malykh received the removal. The defender played with his hand after filing a corner in the opponent's half to prevent his opponent from counterattacking.

And in extra time, the judge again resorted to VAR. Miranchuk in someone else's penalty area tried to beat substitute Andrea Chukanov and ended up on the lawn. At first, Vasiliev did not commit a foul, and the guests even managed to carry out a quick counterattack, which ended with an offside goal from Mamad Silla.

But after the prompts of the assistants and viewing the replay, the judge pointed to the “point”. Miranchuk, who earned a penalty, conceded the right to strike Eder, but the Portuguese from the penalty spot struck well above the goal. It is noteworthy that the striker did not realize only the second penalty in his career.

Lokomotiv was successful in the first match under the leadership of Nikolic and extended the winning streak in the RPL to three matches. In 2020, railway workers scored ten points out of 12 possible in four matches of the Russian Championship. Orenburg, by contrast, suffered a third defeat in a row and dropped to the penultimate, 15th place. The team has an equal number of points with Akhmat - 23, and one point ahead of the Wings of the Soviets closing the standings.

Removal in the 36th minute and the winning goal in the 91st 

Another match of the game day between Ufa and Tambov could not have taken place at all. According to media reports, the Argentine striker owners Andres Vombergar passed a positive test for coronavirus. The club refuted this, but the player was not in the application for the game.

This match also could not have done without deletions. At the 36th minute, referee Vitaly Meshkov showed a direct red card to the defender of the guests Guram Tetrashvili for unsportsmanlike conduct. At the same time, six minutes before, the Georgian received a “mustard plaster”. In the middle of the field he almost got into a fight with Vyacheslav Krotov.

Like Vasiliev, Meshkov resorted to VAR. In the 18th minute after watching the replay, he awarded a penalty for a clear foul on the same Krotov. The eleven-meter was confidently sold by Daniel Fomin.

Subsequently, “Ufa” could repeatedly increase the advantage in the long run, but the goalkeeper of the opponent Giorgi Shelia acted beyond all praise.

And 13 minutes before the final whistle, “Tambov” unexpectedly recouped. Mikhail Kostyukov after throwing Valery Chuperka in touch, not allowing the ball to fall on the lawn, threw the goalkeeper.

However, the victory in this match still remained with the hosts. In the time added by the referee, one of the replacements of Vadim Evseev worked. 21-year-old midfielder Nikolai Giorgobiani, after giving the corner, just struck his head, despite his low height (170 cm), and scored a debut goal in the Premier League. So “Ufa” achieved the first victory in the championship since December 7 last year.