Losing match of "Spartak"
In the central match of the day of the Russian Cup, Spartak, which shares the leadership in the RPL standings with Zenit, met on the road with the FNL player Enisey.
Despite the fact that the red-and-white earlier practically ensured themselves access to the next stage of the tournament (for this they only had to lose with a difference of four goals), Domenico Tedesco took a number of players to Krasnoyarsk, who on Saturday took part in the RPL match with Khimki.
And six players who were in the starting line-up for that meeting appeared on the field from the first minutes this time: Ilya Kutepov, Ilya Gaponov, Pavel Maslov, Nail Umyarov, Alexander Kokorin and Esekiel Ponce.
At the same time, in the middle of the field, Umyarov was accompanied by young pupils of the club Dmitry Markitesov and Stepan Oganesyan, as well as Zelimkhan Bakaev.
But even in a line-up close to the main one, “Spartak” showed itself not in the best way and was defeated with a minimum score.
If in the first half the guests had at least approaches to the goal of others, then in the second they practically did not threaten the possessions of Mikhail Oparin.
Enisey scored the only goal in the 47th minute.
The goal of Artem Rebrov, who played the first match of the year, was struck by Juan Lescano.
To top it all off, after an hour of the game, Ponce was injured, who scored five goals in the current RPL season.
Tedesco was forced to replace the striker.
After the game at the club it was reported that the Argentinean suspected muscle damage.
In addition, Alexander Sobolev, who did not fly to Krasnoyarsk, suffered a meniscus injury during training.
Thus, the most important meeting with Krasnodar, the red-and-white are at risk of having two attackers at once.
Sochi played not the best match on Thursday as well, having started the season well.
Unlike Spartak, the southerners escaped defeat, but snatched a victory over Orenburg and a ticket to the 1/8 finals of the Russian Cup only in a penalty shootout.
In the middle of the first half, the teams exchanged goals scored.
Moreover, the Croatian newcomer Marko Dugandzic scored in Sochi.
In the 70th minute, the Orenburg team had a great opportunity to snatch victory, but Ilya Vorobyov failed to beat Nikolai Zabolotny from the point of view.
And in the penalty shootout, Artyom Yusupov and Nikolay Prudnikov could not score.
But the Sochi players didn't make any mistakes.
Difficult tests for RPL clubs
Otherwise, all RPL teams except Rotor won the victory on the reporting day of the tournament.
But many, following the example of Sochi, took over only on penalties.
The most exciting series took place in Nizhny Novgorod, where the local team of the same name, leading in the FNL, lost to the RPL outsider Khimki.
The main time of the meeting ended in a draw (1: 1), and the guests managed to level the score only in the 74th minute.
In their composition, Ivorian striker Mohamed Konate distinguished himself.
The penalty shootout ended up being 22 hits.
The main hero of this “lottery” is the experienced Khimki goalkeeper Dmitry Khomich.
The goalkeeper first repulsed the blow of Ivan Temnikov, and then he went to the "point" and confidently beat the counterpart.
But "Akhmat" went to visit "Shinnik", practically guaranteeing itself a way out of the group, and therefore a lot of young pupils of the club got into the team.
One of them, 19-year-old striker Islam Alsultanov, who played only the second match in the team, scored his debut goal at the beginning of the second half.
However, the hosts managed to level the score in the time added by the referee.
But in the penalty shoot-out, Grozny turned out to be stronger - 4: 3.
Unlike Akhmat, Arsenal needed only a victory in the game against Tekstilshchik Ivanov, since the opponent was one point ahead of the Gunners on the eve of the face-to-face meeting.
But the wards of Sergei Podpaly did not succeed in hitting the opponent's goal in regulation time.
The RPL team seriously risked not leaving the group, but in the “lottery” the team was saved by the goalkeeper Yegor Shamov, who made two saves.
In turn, the Arsenal players were accurate.
But "Ufa" in the away match with "Chertanovo" did not experience the slightest difficulty.
Bashkortostanians sent four unanswered goals to the opponent's goal.
Timur Zhamaletdinov, Dmitry Sysuev, Vyacheslav Krotov and Serbian newcomer Komnen Andrich, who had their debut meeting with Ufa, distinguished themselves among the guests.
At the same time, Zhamaletdinov still did not convert the penalty in the fifth minute.
Tambov also won in regulation time, which turned out to be stronger than Dynamo-Bryansk - 2: 0.
Defeat from the "Wings of the Soviets"
Another FNL team (representatives of the PFL did not enter the field on Wednesday), which managed to beat the RPL team, were Krylia Sovetov, who flew out of the Premier League in the summer.
Moreover, they turned out to be stronger than Rotor, which played in the sub-elite league last season and is currently at risk of falling back.
The actual absence of a class difference between the opponents was confirmed by the final result - 3: 0 in favor of the Samara team.
In the middle of the first half, 33-year-old Dmitry Kombarov opened the score with an accurate long-range strike.
And shortly before the break, the Russian champion as part of "Spartak" assisted Dmitry Tsypchenko.
Yegor Golenkov, who came on as a substitute, put a point in the match in the end.
Thus, Krylya Sovetov won their second victory in the elite group round and made their way to the 1/8 finals of the Russian Cup.
So far, the Samara team remains the only FNL team that managed to get to this stage.
SKA-Khabarovsk can keep them company, which at the beginning of November in the decisive match of group 9 will host Rubin.
It remains to summarize that the change in the tournament format did not benefit the representatives of the sub-elite division.
If in previous years they regularly reached the high stages, then in the presence of the group stage they are unable to compete with rivals from the RPL.
For comparison, last season seven teams from the FNL reached the 1/8 finals of the Russian Cup.
Two of them made it to the quarterfinals.
And “Khimki” did compete with “Zenith” in the final, where they were defeated with a minimum score.
Strong-willed victory for Ural
Veles was close to joining Wings of the Soviets in the 1/8 finals, which won a ticket to the FNL only last season.
In the decisive match for the first place in Group 1, the Moscow team played host to Ural.
The hosts, despite the difference in class, for most of the meeting looked decent against the background of the guests.
The first half ended without goals scored, and immediately after the break, Veles took the lead.
The forward of the team, Artyom Maksimenko, ran to someone else's goal, beat the defender and accurately shot into the far corner.
However, before the final whistle, Alexey Stukalov's wards fell a little short, and the victory for Ural was won by one footballer - Eric Bikfalvi, who in the end scored a hat-trick in nine minutes.
First, the Romanian converted a penalty kick, which was earned by 36-year-old Pavel Pogrebnyak, who returned to the Ekaterinburg team.
Then he struck a beautiful blow with his head in the near nine.
Finally, during the referee's added time, the striker sent the ball into the opponent's empty net from his own half of the field.
A hat-trick in the match against Veles helped Bikfalvi with 34 goals to reach the fourth-fifth place in the list of the best scorers in the history of the club.
It is headed by Mikhail Mysin (55 goals).
The Ural fans, who in small numbers made it to the Moscow Region Domodedovo, were also noted with a plus sign.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the game was played without spectators, but fans found the opportunity to watch it live.
To do this, they, having agreed with the locals, drove an aerial platform to the stadium and climbed into its cradle.
The # VelesUral match is held without spectators, but our team did not remain without support! # LyulkaUdachipic.twitter.com / bbPrnPVuij
- FC Ural (@FCURAL) October 21, 2020