The predictable success of Zenit

Despite the fact that the RPL went on a winter break, the teams still had to play matches of two rounds of the Cup group stage.

They were postponed from the beginning and middle of November to the end of the month in the interests of the Russian team, which will play with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Fakel and Zenit were the first to enter the field already on the 16th.

Moreover, the Petersburgers needed a victory, because in four meetings they scored only six points and shared second or third places in the quartet with the Wings of the Soviets.

In turn, the Voronezh residents with zero retained the theoretical chances of continuing the struggle.

Of course, the wards of Sergei Semak remained favorites despite the departure of a number of performers to the national teams.

True, the coach gave some leaders the opportunity to rest and put up a semi-reserve squad at the Central Stadium of Trade Unions, diluting it with Mikhail Kerzhakov, Douglas dos Santos, Claudinho and Daler Kuzyaev.

However, he already looked powerful, for example, Zelimkhan Bakaev, Gustavo Mantuan and Dmitry Chistyakov, who reconciled with the club's management, got a chance.

But in the first half, Fakel, with the support of its own fans, looked no worse than the current champion of the country.

The team of Dmitry Pyatibratov imposed a fight on venerable opponents in every part of the field and did not allow them to approach the penalty area.

As a result, the teams had almost no dangerous moments before the break.

Moreover, they struck only one shot on target each other.

However, the guests, taking into account their staffing capabilities, are able to turn the course of any meeting with the help of substitutions.

In Voronezh, they threw into battle instead of Bakaev Malcolm, who did not prove himself, and he immediately opened the scoring.

Having received a pass from Mateo Cassierra, he beat Alexei Gorodovoy in the penalty area and sent the ball into the net from an acute angle.

And in the end, the Brazilian unwittingly scored a double.

After hitting Danil Krugovoy, the ball hit his stomach and flew into the net.

Thus, the midfielder made himself a gift, because on the day of the game he announced that his girlfriend was expecting a baby.

Tough win for Ufa

In the meantime, quarterfinal matches were held in the Way of Regions, the winners of which got the opportunity to compete in the playoffs with the teams that took third places in the groups of the RPL Way.

The first to win this right was Ufa.

She herself played in the elite division last season, but flew out and is now fighting for survival in the FNL, experiencing serious financial problems.

But the Cup became an outlet for her.

At first, the Bashkortostan team not without difficulty broke the resistance of two rivals from the Second League, Kuban-Holding and Dynamo-Bryansk, and then, in a dramatic home confrontation, they defeated Dynamo from Makhachkala.

In regular time, the opponents hit each other's gates twice.

At the same time, the hosts had an overwhelming advantage, but did not convert a lot of chances.

And the guests, shortly before the whistle for the break, took advantage of the only one - Razhab Magomedov ran away to a rendezvous with Ivan Kukushkin and outplayed him.

At the very beginning of the second half, Arslan Khalimbekov's wards finally broke through, and they not only equalized the score, but also took the lead.

But the blue and white was saved by the same Magomedov, who put an end to a quick counterattack and scored a double.

As a result, the fate of the meeting was decided in a penalty shootout.

The captain of "Ufa" Zaurbek Pliev was the first to make a mistake.

Soslan Kagermazov had an excellent opportunity to provide his team with an advantage, but Kukushkin managed his shot.

And then the nerves could not stand the captain of the Dagestan team Mutalip Alibekov, who did not even hit the target.

Incredible performance of Kombarov's wards

Sensationally made it to the next round and "Star".

The modest team representing the Second League continues to make history.

She started in the Cup at the 1/128 final stage and has already gone through five rounds, knocking out three representatives of the FNL along the way.

Following the outsiders "Veles" and "Motherland", the strong "KAMAZ" was forced to end the fight, leading the fight for getting into the joints.

On the road, from the first minutes, the Petersburgers gave the initiative to their superior opponent and regularly responded with the most dangerous counterattacks.

One of them ended with a goal by Stanislav Utkin in the seventh minute.

It is noteworthy that the 23-year-old pupil of the Zenit school, who managed to play for the farm clubs of blue-white-blue and Lokomotiv, suspended his career for a year and a half and even managed to enter the coaching staff of Leningradets.

However, in the summer he joined the Zvezda team, and in Nizhnekamsk he scored his debut goal in adult football.

In the second half, another local athlete, Dmitry Sukonkin, removed all questions about the outcome of the match.

At the previous stages, he once upset Veles and Rodina, and now he did not regret KAMAZ.

Chelny residents answered this only with the ball of Nikita Kirsanov in the end.

It is also necessary to note the head coach of Zvezda Dmitry Kombarov.

The former captain of Spartak hung up his boots at a relatively young age and at the age of 35 was not afraid to accept a team from the Second League.

So far, everything is going great for a novice specialist.

His wards not only created a miracle in the Cup, but also occupy the second line in their zone.

Amazing saves by Natabashvili

At first glance, the relegation of Alania can also be called a surprise, because it reached the semi-finals of the previous draw, and this season the FNL shares the lead in the table with Baltika.

This result raises much fewer questions if you study its composition.

Zaur Tedeev gave rest to the leaders and brought a close and even a distant reserve to Zhigulevsk to Akron.

Of the stable main performers, only defender Soslan Kachmazov came, but his efforts were not enough.

And Georgiy Natabashvili proved to be the brightest among the favorites.

The 22-year-old goalkeeper, who made more than one save in the previous stage match with Volgar and saved a penalty, and this time did everything to make his team go further.

He rescued partners in several seemingly hopeless moments and missed only once.

In the 55th minute, after a set-piece and a cross from the flank, the ball successfully bounced off to Dmitry Sasin, and he accurately shot into the far corner.

Natabashvili could not parry the blow physically.

But his counterpart Sergei Volkov was left practically without work and easily played to zero.

And Akron, which gained professional status just three years ago, for the first time in its short history, has reached the National Cup stage, where representatives of the elite division enter the fray.

Transformation of Volga in the Russian Cup

Made it to the next round and an outsider FNL "Volga".

If in the national championship it hardly scores points, then in the Cup it knocks out the strongest teams from the fight.

Following Rubin and Neftekhimik, Kuban suffered a defeat.

And all three meetings ended with a score of 2:1.

And the Ulyanovsk team not only won another victory, but also scored two handsome goals in the first half.

First, Denis Rakhmanov made a spectacular pass through the opponent's half.

Along the way, he beat one opponent and removed the second one on the backswing and shot into the far one from outside the penalty area.

And then Daniil Arsentiev doubled the advantage of the guests, leaving several opponents out of work.

Krasnodar responded to this only with a goal by Nuri Abdokov.

Having reduced the gap, they went forward with the whole team, but in the end, in addition, they remained in the minority.

Substitute Aleksey Shchetkin managed to get two yellow cards within six minutes.