Turns out Dynamo's Andriy Voronin can't walk on water
By now, as summer turns to autumn, the RPL season is normally on the wane. But this year, though only five games of the usual campaign are remaining, the league will resume, split evenly into two mini-leagues at the eighth-place spot, to determine who’s crowned as champs and relegated as chumps next Spring.
KRYLYA SOVETOV SAMARA 1 – 0 DYNAMO MOSCOW
Dynamo lost ground at the top of the table with their loss away in Samara with the pitch at Krylya’s Metallurg Stadium taking the blame.
Actually, that was reserved for referee, Igor Yegorov, who decided that conditions in Samara after a late deluge were not dangerous despite Dynamo’s complaints.
With both sides sent into the mire it was Krylya, benefiting from Dynamo being utterly unable to play the expansive football that’d brought a flood of goals and wins, who took the lead through Kornilenko’s strike on 11 minutes.
On 36 minutes, Dynamo’s Granat was dismissed after he was adjudged to have tugged Kornilenko back when through on goal, effectively ending their hopes of saving the game.
CSKA MOSCOW 3 – 1 VOLGA NIZHNY NOVGOROD
One team not getting bogged down in the moment this weekend however was CSKA Moscow.
Celebrating their centenary by donning special commemorative shirts, the Armymen also registered their 1000th victory as a club by defeating Volga Nizhny Novgorod.
Vagner Love assisted Doumbia for the opening goal after six minutes – the Ivorian registering his 15th of the season.
Bibilov then managed to ghost-in between a leaden CSKA defence to equalise for Volga on 17 minutes but Dzagoev, allowed a full 90-minutes and the fulcrum of the Armymen’s creativity, restored CSKA’s lead with a placed header on 68 minutes. Ignashevich wrapped things up by scoring from the spot six minutes from time.
Intriguingly, before the game CSKA President, Yevgeny Giner, revealed that the club will sell striker Vagner Love in November.
The enigmatic but brilliant Brazilian has been almost constantly involved in transfer-rumours since joining the Armymen in 2004 and his departure would be a big blow to CSKA in the champion-deciding mini-league that follows the normal round of 30 matches this year, especially if injury were to befall top-scorer Doumbia.
ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG 4 – 0 TOM TOMSK
Also back to good form were League-leaders Zenit who eased past Tom Tomsk
In their last five RPL matches Zenit had conceded nine and scored 16. Here they stemmed their loss of goals –thanks to great performances from Criscito and Shirokov – but maintained their cutting edge.
Shirokov, imperious in his holding-role, set-up Fayzulin to put Zenit ahead after only four minutes before adding a second himself 20 minutes later.
Danny and Kerzhakov combined to kill Tomsk off before halftime and Kerzhakov netted brace number 25 of his career, on 54 minutes, to finish matters.
The victory maintained Zenit’s two-point lead over CSKA at the top of the table. They still look good for clinching the number-one spot as well as the title of Champions come the end of the mini-league decider next Spring.
Tom now lie in fifteenth with Samara leap-frogging above them while Volga fall to twelfth. Dynamo stay third but drop three points behind CSKA.
FC KRASNODAR 2 – 4 SPARTAK MOSCOW
Hot on Dynamo’s heels are rivals Spartak Moscow who, after a scandalous start to the campaign, put together a ten-match unbeaten run on the quiet.
Spartak’s Aiden McGeady was quiet after the midweek birth of a daughter but the increasingly eye-catching strike pairing of Emenike and Dzyuba meant the continued suspension of Welliton was no barrier for The Meat.
Emenike put Spartak ahead after 31 minutes with Dzyuba doubling the lead on 36 minutes. De Zeeuw and Kombarov both added to the scoring while Evgeny Shipitsin gamely took the fight to Spartak, the Krasnodar midfielder coming away with two goals.
On this form Spartak might yet push for the title of champions but must address their defensive frailties while Krasnodar lie one place outside the top-eight who’ll compete in the champions’ mini-league come Spring.
ANZHI MAKHACHKALA 2 – 2 TEREK GROZNY
Krasnodar will most likely be duking it out for that eight-place spot with either Rubin Kazan or Anzhi Makhachkala – the latter just about plundering a point from the weekend’s big derby in Dagestan.
It was a pulsating affair from the off, with Pavlenko putting Terek into a surprise lead after eight minutes, only for Eto’o to equalise six minutes later with his third goal in four games for Anzhi.
Oleg Vlasov’s counter-strike put Terek back in front with just two minutes to go but Joao Carlos saved a deserved point for Anzhi in injury-time to keep the Dagestani in seventh place. Terek – watched by new manager and ex-Spartak hero, Stanislav Cherchesov – stay 11th.
OTHER SCORES:
Lokomotiv Moscow 1-1 Rubin Kazan; Spartak Nalchik 0-1 Kuban Krasnodar; Amkar Perm 0-1 Rostov
Tags: Anzhi Makhachkala, CSKA Moscow, Dynamo Moscow, Kryliya Sovetov Samara, Samuel Eto'o, Spartak Moscow, Zenit St.Petersburg