This week the RPL went all Sky Sports by providing us all with a Super-Sunday. No, it really was! Instead of being told how a nil-all between Birmingham and Man City was just about to ignite, fourteen goals rained in from just three games – and Richard Keys was nowhere to be seen. Bliss.
SPARTAK NALCHIK 4 – 0 KUBAN KRASNODAR
Did you know that Harry Houdini was a Buddhist and has been reincarnated as FC Spartak Nalchik? There is surely no other way to explain the great escape that continues down there in southern Russia.
Kuban have been floundering in the remaining yet-to-be-claimed relegation berth, but had a fantastic opportunity here to exchange places with Nalchik, directly above them.
Instead, Yuriy Krasnozhan guided Nalchik to a six successive victory, leaving the Cossacks five points from safety with only three to play. Asildarov opened the scoring with a 32nd minute penalty before a tight game was split asunder with goals from Amisulashvili, Kisenkov and Leandro in the final half-hour.
TOM’ TOMSK 1 – 3 LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW
In a hectic start in Siberia, Tom’ fell behind to Dmitry Sychev’s fourth penalty conversion of the campaign after 11 minutes. Goran Maznov then equalised nine minutes later when the ball fell to him off a post.
Sychev restored Loko’s lead before half-time and Peter Odemwingie doubled it two minutes after the oranges. Dzyuba and Kombalov were later sent off, leaving both sides with ten men.
In matters nearer the top of the table, the Meat spent a good 10mins after halftime making a meal of it against the Rostelmashi, before ending clear winners.
SPARTAK MOSCOW 5 – 1 ROSTOV
Alex danced from right to left across the ‘D’ before chipping Mandrykin to give the Red-Whites a spectacular lead after 19 cagey minutes.
Spartak hammered Rostov for the rest of the half. Pavel Yakovlev’s goal, after neat work between him and Zhano Ananidze, was the only one to follow before the break – scant reward for such dominance.
The profligacy nearly cost them: Rostov – who could get no worse – came flying out of the changing rooms, energised by Salugin’s introduction, and on 51mins Alexandru Gatcan smashed home a loose ball from just inside the area. Spartak were suddenly nervous when before they’d been imperious.
However, Mandrykin flapped terribly at a long-ranger from Alex eight minutes later putting Spartak 3-1 up and knocking all the fight out of Rostov.
From there Spartak strolled to victory, their prodigious Georgian, Zhano Ananidze, netting their fourth and Welliton the fifth.
It was the Brazilian’s twentieth in the league, making him only the second player in RPL history to reach that amount in one season – compatriot Vagner Love being the first, last year.
The result saw Spartak equal Rubin’s Goals For tally of 57 and come within one point of the leaders, who’d secured their win the day before.
RUBIN KAZAN 4 – 1 KRYLIYA SOVETOV SAMARA
The team who’d famously beaten Barcelona at the Nou Camp only days earlier were missing the influential Sergey Semak and went into the break nil-nil. The second-45 saw a more determined Rubin – and five goals.
First-blood was drawn by Noboa for the home-team two minutes after the break. Bukharov drove in a shot from the right to double the advantage on 56 minutes.
Czech legend Jan Koller pulled one back with a trademark header five minutes later. But then Karadeniz netted a third goal in 10 crazy minutes to restore Rubin’s two-goal cushion. Bukharov notched his second of the game 14 minutes from time to seal the win.
The three points kept Ruby’s noses in front of Spartak’s – for now. Each side, thrillingly, has to play both CSKA and Zenit in their remaining three games, starting with Rubin away to The Army Men next week.
And that clash will only be Leonid Slutsky’s second in charge of CSKA, after Juande Ramos was jettisoned following the midweek Champions League defeat to Manchester United.
CSKA MOSCOW 1 – 0 TEREK GROZNY
The man with a name like a Russian hooker got his misfiring-team’s dander up to secure a narrow win. Indeed, Sekou Oliseh got a little too excited and injured himself in the warm-up.
The Army Men climaxed early: Necid after 4mins. In time, the visitors roused to fumble a few efforts at Akinfeev in nets for CSKA, but Terek couldn’t slip anything past the goalie.
ELSEWHERE…
Zenit fell 1-0 to FC Moscow, their first league defeat since August. With five minutes left, Lombaerts’s failed to deal with a cross and Sheshukov took advantage. Out of the title-hunt, Zenit lie in joint third with The Citizens. CSKA are one point behind meaning the race for the Europa League spot is heating up.
Saturn took all three points against Khimki, Halilovic heading home a corner to win it 1-0 for the Aliens.
And finally, Dynamo Moscow and Amkar Perm played out the weekend’s only goalless game.
So, after all of that, this is what the league standings look like:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables?league=rus.1&cc=5739