Golenkov's double and Timofeev's sending off
Having suffered three defeats in a row, Rostov seemed to have almost lost its chance of winning medals. However, the friendly misfires of CSKA and Spartak gave the team the opportunity to rejoin the fight for getting into the top three. But for this it was necessary to beat Akhmat, which had gained an amazing move, at home, which, in case of victory, could bypass the opponent and rise to fourth place.
The more unexpected was the beginning of the meeting. By the 12th minute, the hosts twice upset Georgy Shelia. Moreover, the double was scored by Yegor Golenkov. Valery Karpin was forced to release a reservist on the field, who had previously scored only one goal in the RPL, and he shot. In both cases, he was assisted by Kirill Shchetinin. First, the striker closed his cross from the right, and then took advantage of the midfielder's removal from his own half, ahead of the defender and throwing the goalkeeper.
But how quickly the yellow-blues created a reserve in the score, so quickly they lost it. It is curious that the reserve also returned the guests to the game. The top scorer of the last season of the championship Hamid Agalarov got a place in the start due to the injury of Mohamed Konate and after half an hour of the meeting reduced the gap. And soon Vladislav Karapuzov with a billiard shot from outside the penalty area restored the status quo.
It is not surprising that in such a game the players lost their nerves, and at the end of the half, a mass brawl broke out on the field. Vitaly Meshkov managed to extinguish passions only by showing a total of six yellow cards, three to the players of each of the teams.
To the credit of Karpin's wards, in the second half they did not slow down, but on the contrary, seized the initiative and eventually achieved their goal. Grozny held on, but, remaining in the minority after the removal of Artem Timofeev, still missed. The hosts were again saved by Daniil Utkin's ability to play set pieces. Only if Nikolay Komlichenko usually closed his serves, now Danila Prokhin, who rarely scores, did it.
Smolov's penalty and Galaktionov's substitutions
No less striking match was given by Dynamo and Lokomotiv, devoid of tournament motivation. They scored six goals for two and arranged a concert for the 17,<> spectators gathered in the stands. It is curious that the game was quite calm, until Artem Dzyuba, who signed a new contract with the club a few days ago, played with his hand in his own penalty area when taking a corner. Referee Roman Safyan did not see the violation at first, but after consulting with his colleagues at VAR and watching the replay, he pointed to the "point". However, Fyodor Smolov missed a penalty. And it's not at all about the master of reflecting penalty kicks Ilya Lantratov - the striker spread it and the ball at different angles, but did not hit the target.
Inspired railwaymen rushed forward and even before the break punished the opponent for extravagance. The same Dzyuba managed to make amends to his partners. In the 400th anniversary meeting in the RPL, he gave an effective pass to Nair Tiknizyan. In total, he now has 13 points (8 + 5) in 12 games for Loko. But in the fourth minute compensated for the half, the blue and white recouped. Safyan was not afraid to award a second penalty, and Smolov was not afraid to approach the "point" again. This time Fedor did not miss his chance.
In the second half, the course of the meeting was largely determined by the competent substitutions of Mikhail Galaktionov. On the edges of the attack, he fielded fresh Sergey Pinyaev and Maxim Glushenkov instead of the inconspicuous Rifat Zhemaletdinov and Francois Camano, and it worked. With the advent of young technical wingers, the guests especially actively began to put pressure on the right flank of the opponent's defense, where the older Serhiy Parshivlyuk could not cope with the task. Even Saba Sazonov's goal after a corner kick did not change the situation much.
Lokomotiv continued to bend its line and achieved success. Igor Leschuk had to get the ball out of the goal three times, and all the goals came from the problematic right flank of the defense. First, Glushenkov, taking advantage of a neat cutting pass from Daniil Kulikov, burst into the area between Sazonov and Nicolas Marichal Perez and shot into the far field. In the episode with the decisive goal of Maxim Nenakhov, ricochets from Yaroslav Gladyshev and Sazonov helped the red-green, but Glushenkov was again allowed to make a cross from the left. Finally, it was not without an accurate blow from Wilson Isidore's joker. The Frenchman has already scored six goals in the current season of the national championship after coming on as a substitute, and only Ivan Sergeev (7) is ahead of him in this indicator.
Yusupov's goal and Zaika's hoop
"Zenith" after winning the championship title can not win in the RPL. First, he played a draw with Krasnodar and Orenburg, leaving in both matches from defeats in added time to the second half, and now on the road he broke up the world with Sochi - 1: 1. Such a result is quite natural, because Sergei Semak, as in the previous round, provided practice to the reservists. In particular, the line of defense consisted entirely of them. Even Arsen Adamov, who had previously entered the field in only seven league games this season, and only as a substitute, got a place in the start.
It is not surprising that St. Petersburg missed first, and it happened as quickly as possible. The hosts intercepted the ball in the opponent's half and delivered it to Artur Yusupov in the penalty area, who had the opportunity to calmly handle and aim a shot. And the ricochet from Dmitry Chistyakov made it impossible for Alexander Vasyutin. Thus, the midfielder not only pleased the fans, but also went down in history, since this goal, scored in the 33rd second, turned out to be the earliest for the club in the RPL.
However, at the beginning of the second half, Fortuna paid the debt to the wards of Sergei Semak. Gustavo Mantuan took a free-kick over the wall, and the ball, hitting the back of Igor Yurganov, flew into the far one. This does not detract from the merits of the Brazilian, who at the end of the season leads the team. It was he who gave the pass for the "golden" goal to Ivan Sergeev in the match with Spartak. And in the absence of leaders, the midfielder scored three points. In total, he has a solid 9 (6 + 3) in the current draw of the national championship, despite the fact that he only got into the base three times.
The confrontation was not without a curiosity. In the 79th minute, Dmitry Khokhlov wanted to replace Kirill Zaika, but failed to do so for a very unusual reason - it was not possible to remove the wedding ring from the player's finger. And according to the regulations, you can't go out on the field with him. Previously, the footballer played several times with tape on a broken finger.
Akbashev's performance and Evseev's role
If the change of coach in the spring did not help Sochi much, then it had a significant impact on Fakel. In four meetings under the leadership of Vadim Evseev, the Voronezh team won three victories and one defeat. Moreover, in addition to Rostov, they, most importantly, beat direct competitors at home in the struggle for survival - Nizhny Novgorod in the 27th round and Krylia Sovetov in the 29th.
In addition to the specialist, it is necessary to single out Roman Akbashev, who, by his actions, is trying to keep the team in the elite for the next season. In all meetings, led by Evseev, it was he who scored the winning goals. In the confrontation with Samara, the short midfielder distinguished himself in an uncharacteristic style for himself - he headed in a cross from the flank. And in the first half, he also gave a spectacular assist to Andrei Mendel. Almost on the front of the midfielder, he removed two opponents on a swing and made a pass to his partner.
Thanks to Akbashev's two points, Fakel defeated Krylia and left the junction zone for the round before the end of the RPL. It is even surprising that the team is pulled forward by a player who a few years ago was not in demand at Rubin, where he almost did not get practice. It seemed that it would not be easy to return back to the Premier League, but at the age of 31, having received a second chance, Roman took advantage of it 100%.
Egorychev's hat-trick from passes and Čurić's shot
Meanwhile, the teams that were directly relegated from the RPL suffered another defeat. "Khimki" at home were defeated by "Ural" - 0: 3. This match turned out to be special for two players from Yekaterinburg at once. Andrey Egorychev scored an assistant hat-trick, and Alexander Yushin scored twice for the first time in the Premier League. For the striker, the end of the season turns out to be special at all, because he won the fight for a place in the base and scored four goals in the last five meetings of the championship. Moreover, his goals helped the team maintain their place in the elite - now it will not even get into the joints.
"Torpedo", unlike comrades in misfortune, managed to give battle to "Orenburg". In the first half, Dmitry Vorobyov's goal from the penalty spot was answered by Mario Curić. The Croatian succeeded in a terrific shot from long range. But the fate of the meeting was decided by a rather controversial penalty kick after the break, allegedly appointed for playing with the hand of Evgeny Shlyakov. This time, Himmi Marin took his chance. And in the 75th minute, the Muscovites also remained in the minority after captain Artem Samsonov received the second yellow. The debut goal for Orenburg of 18-year-old Danil Kapustyansky finally removed all questions. However, Torpedo was extremely dissatisfied with the work of judges Yan Bobrovsky and Igor Panin and promised to apply to the ESC RFU.