After three defeats in a row in the national championship, including a fiasco in Samara, Dynamo's affairs gradually began to improve.
First, the wards of Sandro Schwartz defeated Alania and for the first time since 2012 reached the final of the Russian Cup, and then a rival misfired in the fight for RPL silver medals.
Sochi delivered 22 shots to Nizhny Novgorod's goal and spent almost the entire second half in the majority, but could not score against one of the outsiders of the tournament (0:0).
As a result, Vladimir Fedotov's team, although they overtook Muscovites in the standings, sharply increased their chances of final success in the battle for awards.
To take second place, it was enough for the blue and white to draw twice in the final two rounds - first with Lokomotiv, and then with the southerners themselves.
As for the railway workers, there was no need to talk about the lack of motivation.
Although they lost their chances for the fifth year in a row to finish the season in the top three, they continued to claim fourth place.
To do this, they needed to win in the remaining two meetings and hope for spectacle losses for CSKA and Krasnodar.
And taking into account the fact that in the 29th round they had to measure their strength with each other, Lokomotiv had the opportunity to jump into the top 4 and slightly brighten up the impression of a not very successful championship, which was marked by a global restructuring of the team.
Fans were alarmed only by the fact that the red-greens beat the last serious opponent back in early April.
In the 23rd round, Spartak was defeated, after which Lokomotiv prevailed only over Nizhny Novgorod and Rubin, having suffered three defeats.
At the same time, the game of the team also left much to be desired.
The railway workers not only experienced problems in attack, but also looked disastrous in defense.
Only Arsenal allowed the opponents to create more dangerous moments, and in terms of the number of goals conceded, they even shared the first line with the Tula.
And with the start of the reporting match, it became clear that in the confrontation with Dynamo, Lokomotiv would not be able to correct these statistics.
Although the guests had less possession of the ball, they regularly penetrated the opponent's penalty area, forcing Marinato Guilherme to come into play over and over again.
And he couldn't take the pressure.
In the ninth minute, an experienced goalkeeper made a mistake and gave a pass to Fedor Smolov, who did not forgive the ex-teammate.
The striker broke a dry streak of two matches and caught up with Roman Pavlyuchenko in the number of goals in the Russian championship (94).
Only Alexander Kerzhakov (133) and Artyom Dzyuba (148) have more.
True, the forward of the blue and white did not celebrate this achievement out of respect for the former club.
In general, Dynamo looked very impressive in the attack and did not give any reason to recall the absence of not only the head coach, but also a number of the strongest players.
Sandro Schwartz, Nikola Moro and Vyacheslav Grulev missed the meeting due to disqualification, Diego Laskalt and Denis Makarov - due to injuries.
In this situation, Arsen Zakharyan and Daniil Lesovoy, who continues to gain shape after cruciate ligament surgery, took the leading roles.
For two, they landed five shots in half.
But if the second only tested the strength of the goal frame, the first became the author of a goal-masterpiece.
On his third attempt, he caught Guilherme by surprise, hitting the top nine from 23m.
And five minutes later, Dynamo scored for the third time.
Even though Lesovoy could not score himself, he helped to earn a 11-meter penalty.
It was he who almost organized Smolov one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Tin Edvai intervened.
The Croatian knocked down the striker and left Sergei Ivanov no choice but to point to the spot.
Daniil Fomin, the white-and-blue staff penalty shooter, approached her and easily dealt with Guilherme.
However, two accurate shots by Dynamo were preceded by the response of Lokomotiv, and Fomin again acted as one of the actors.
When trying to pass, he hit the ball on his leg and provoked an attack on his own goal, which ended in a corner.
Nair Tiknizyan superbly performed the serve, and Jedvay, who was left without guardianship, irresistibly struck under the crossbar.
But Lokomotiv had no more chances to excel in the first period.
Rifat Zhemaletdinov and Girano Kerk tried to create something in the opponent's half, but Dynamo's defense didn't fail.
The beginning of the second game segment was not the brightest.
The hosts, although they continued to have a territorial advantage, could not convert it into sharp episodes.
Up to the moment when Marvin Compper decided to release two players on the field, for unclear reasons, remaining on the bench.
Jan Kukhta and Wilson Isidor entered the game, and five minutes later Lokomotiv took the first step towards a comeback.
Kerk chic Paz brought the Czech one on one with Anton Shunin, and he dealt with the goalkeeper in cold blood.
True, the guests had suspicions of offside, but they were quickly dispelled by video assistants.
After another seven minutes, Lokomotiv again took advantage of the total confusion in the defensive formations of Dynamo and restored parity.
This time, the entire attacking four took part in the combination: Zhemaletdinov performed a magnificent throw on Isidor, and he threw it on Kukhta.
Jan's shot was miraculously blocked by Roman Evgeniev, but the defender's selfless actions did not allow him to avoid a goal.
At the far post, Kerk caught a rebound.
Only after that Dynamo woke up and again began to respond to the opponent's attacks.
This was also facilitated by the replacements carried out by the assistant head coach Volkan Bulut.
The tired Smolov was replaced by Konstantin Tyukavin, and the inexpressive Clinton N'Zhier was replaced by Yaroslav Gladyshev.
It was the young pupils of the blue and white that almost helped the team to snatch victory in the derby.
But Zakharyan could not take advantage of the pass of the first one, and the second lacked accuracy a little.
A dribble kick from the right edge of the penalty area was just right, but the ball missed the post a bit.
In the third stoppage minute by regular time, Lokomotiv had the opportunity to finally demoralize Dynamo, and Kukhta - to score a victorious double, but Shunin turned out to be more successful in close combat.
The blue and white achieved an acceptable result for themselves and returned to second place in the RPL standings.
To win silver, it is enough for them not to lose to Sochi in the 30th round.
The railway workers, on the other hand, could not only catch up with CSKA, but also bypass Krasnodar.
The red-greens remained on the sixth line and tomorrow they may lose their chances of getting into the final four.