Khimki beat Krasnodar, CSKA defeated Rostov in the quarterfinal matches of the Russian Cup

The authors of the first truly loud sensation in the Fonbet Russian Cup, which resumed after the winter break, were the players of Khimki, who were relegated last year from the top division. In the match of the first stage of the quarterfinal round of the “Path of Regions”, they beat Krasnodar on their home field – 2:0, knocking out of the tournament Krasnodar, which had recently been the leader in the Russian championship, but now seems to be experiencing something of a crisis. And the first semi-finalist of the “RPL Path” was the current trophy owner CSKA, who beat Rostov at home in the return match of the opening round of the play-offs – 2:0.

What happened at the Khimki stadium, only for a person who slept through the restart of the domestic football season, could seem like some kind of incredible anomaly: the recent leader of the championship, a contender for gold awards, suffers in a match with a team of the second-ranking division! And not in the “cup” squad, that is, mainly from reserves, as in the group stage, but in an almost combat squad – with Eduard Spertsyan, John Cordoba, Kevin Castano. The person who did not miss the restart most likely did not experience shock from what he saw. This was the same “Krasnodar” that in two championship matches that promised a rich harvest after the winter break – with Rubin and Rostov – scored only a point: a little nervous, even twitchy, spoiling the chances, because, for example, Instead of shooting from a lethal position, the football player, as if afraid of making a mistake, is looking for how to improve the situation, and is literally inviting disaster to his goal.

The trouble came when Castaño, with his arms outstretched absurdly, jumped out in front of Roman Yuzepchuk, who had caught up on the front line and was already threatening to cross her pass. Naturally, the ball hit the Krasnodar player’s hand, which was dangling in the air. The guests prepared for the penalty the same way basketball players prepare for someone else’s penalty kick when the score is tied at the end: long, thoroughly, as if the probability of a rebound from the hoop was enormous, and everything depended on whoever takes it. The efforts were in vain. Khetag Khosonov fired into the corner so powerfully that, even having guessed where the ball would fly, goalkeeper Stanislav Agkatsev could not reach it.

And the second half of the first half was remembered primarily by the performance of Khimki goalkeeper Igor Obukhov. He took a seemingly deadly arcing shot from Eduard Spertsyan. He reacted to the ricochet from Kayo’s hip, although he was three meters from the ribbon. In general, Khimki held on, although the degree of pressure on their rear was rising and rising.

And when, after the break, the feeling was already ripening that Krasnodar was about to break open this unexpectedly strong lock, Khimki bravely went forward and played a wonderful combination, one that would have become a source of pride for the grandee – exceptionally clearly and sweepingly outlined, with a gorgeous backheel pass from Alexander Rudenko, with the sudden inclusion of defender Oleg Isaenko in the center, who stung the club, in whose academy, in fact, he grew into a professional player.

And Krasnodar coach Vladimir Ivich, trying to pull his sinking team out of the swamp, sent onto the field one after another fresh fighters with a name and reputation – Nikita Krivtsov, Alexander Chernikov, Olakunle Olasegun. But the bottom kept getting closer and closer, because Khimki flatly refused to tremble. But they did not refuse forays into the Krasnodar half. Amazingly, the Moscow region team at the end of the match was much closer to scoring the third goal, from which the opponents were saved by the crossbar, than Krasnodar was to bringing back the intrigue that was fading before our eyes. So “Khimki” suddenly broke into the second quarterfinal stage of the “Path of the Regions”.

In the first half of the return match between CSKA and Rostov, who tied 1:1 in last year’s meeting that opened their confrontation, density and fight prevailed over sharpness by an overwhelming margin. Moreover, there was no way to point out who was at least a little stronger in this tedious tug-of-war: the rope froze at a dead center.

He moved away from her after resting – due to the fact that the army men had become more aggressive. In the end, they succeeded in a great attack, in which everything was to the point and on time: a soft serve from Tamerlan Musaev, a subtle throw back from Viktor Davila and a very subtle pass instead of the obvious shot from Fedor Chalov, with which the forward found defender Ilya at the post who had come to help the attack Agapova.

Rostov could have earned a penalty when Willian Rocha accidentally touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area after Ivan Komarov’s shot, but VAR and referee Sergei Karasev spared the army team. And soon after this episode, they again destroyed the Rostov defense by re-passing, and Musaev put an end to the match. He led CSKA to the semi-finals of the “RPL Path”, and sent his opponent to the second quarterfinal stage of the “Path of Regions”, without depriving them of the prospects of fighting for the cup.

Alexey Dospehov