Rostov and CSKA change the trio – Sport – Kommersant

Three matches took place in the 15th round of the Russian Football Championship, each of which was important in terms of the fight for medals. Rostov scored a strong-willed victory over Akhmat – 2: 1, and CSKA defeated Lokomotiv – 1: 0 in a hard-fought derby. Both clubs are currently in the top three with 29 points behind confidently leading Zenit. Dynamo, which defeated Khimki 6:1, is currently in the top five with 26 points.

The easiest match in the Saturday program of the 15th round was Dynamo-Khimki, in which the Muscovites were opposed by the team that won for the last time on August 7th. And the fact that the club near Moscow will extend its losing streak in the current championship of Russia to 11 meetings, it became obvious already in the debut. Goalkeeper Vitaly Gudiev made a monstrous mistake by giving the ball to Mumi Ngamalyo, and the goal of the Cameroonian, in fact, immediately killed the Khimki team, who are already in an extremely depressed moral and psychological state. And by the break, they were absolutely hopelessly burning 0:3 after Denis Makarov and Fedor Smolov’s blows. In addition, their head coach Spartak Gogniev ran into a removal for arguing with the referees.

In the second half, Konstantin Tyukavin and Yaroslav Gladyshev scored twice at Dynamo, to which the guests responded only with a productive action by Ilya Sadygov, who converted a penalty. Thus, Khimki suffered a second crushing defeat in a row – 1:6. In the last round, we recall, they were taken out by Spartak with a score of 5: 0, and in total they already conceded 34 goals. Meanwhile, the Blue and White scored 26 points and even temporarily entered the top three, ahead of CSKA and Rostov in additional indicators, which played their matches later.

Confrontation Akhmat – Rostov, of course, was from another, increased category of complexity. The rivals were in the leading group, and only three points separated them. Moreover, Grozny won four victories in five rounds after the resignation from the post of head coach Andrey Talalaev. The new mentor Sergei Tashuev clearly cheered up the team. But the Rostovites showed a certain decline, as evidenced primarily by the home defeat against Ural and a draw with Fakel on the road.

Here in Grozny, the guests encountered difficulties. Akhmat quickly found success when Mohamed Konate single-handedly dealt with two central defenders and shot accurately. The hosts could have increased the difference – Lechi Sadulaev missed a particularly opportune moment for this. In the first half, Valery Karpin’s wards did not pick up the key to someone else’s goal, and in the second, Akhmat attacked more sharply.

The tension in the Rostov penalty area sometimes just rolled over, but suddenly the game turned in the opposite direction.

And if Daniil Utkin’s shot was parried by the post, Nikolay Komlichenko picked up and sent the ownerless ball into the net when submitting the standard. Immediately, Kirill Shchetinin put Rostov ahead, but Komlichenko played his hand a little earlier, and the goal was canceled. And yet, in the end, the yellow-blues snatched a strong-willed victory – 2: 1, which was brought to them by Alexander Silyanov, who closed the canopy of Maxim Osipenko.

This result also made changes to the top of the standings. Rostov moved up to second place with 29 points, pushing Spartak to third, while Dynamo has already rebounded to fifth place. And there was still a match with CSKA.

Derby Lokomotiv-CSKA also, everything did not look as unambiguous as it might seem when looking at the position of the railway workers, who had fallen to a very low 14th position for themselves. The army team, of course, were considered favorites, but during the championship they noticeably slowed down, losing nine points in five previous matches and beating only the long-suffering Khimki in this segment. And in general, the capital derby is a special story that does not always lend itself to logic. Moreover, Lokomotiv had to lie down with the bones, and at least catch a draw.

In addition, CSKA experienced personnel problems. In particular, despite the fact that Igor Diveev and Bruno Fuchs returned to the application, both have not yet fully restored their functionality after injuries, and 18-year-old Matvey Lukin made his debut in the center of defense. I also had to look for a replacement for Moises and Sasha Zdelar, who were absent due to disqualification.

However, the backbone South American connection Jorge Carrascal-Jesus Medina worked for the army team. The Colombian and Paraguayan have lacked stability lately, but if given free rein on the field, they can make a goal out of nothing. In a separate episode, Lokomotiv allowed the leaders of CSKA too much – Carrascal to pass the ball, and the low Medina to head unhindered. At the same time, the hosts of the RZD Arena did not concede anything in the game. Moreover, they had an excellent chance to recoup when Konstantin Maradishvili flew one on one with the goalkeeper. The former soldier tried to circle around Igor Akinfeev, but he averted the threat in class. And then the railroad workers persistently pressed on his goal, but it almost never came to scoring situations.

The second half began with the fact that Medina tried to score a brace, and goalkeeper Marinato Guilherme rescued Lokomotiv.

In general, the match was still equal and almost without dangerous moments. The red-greens could not transform their activity into any specifics, but the red-blues nevertheless disturbed Guilherme.

Fedor Chalov hit the post from a free kick, and Baktiyor Zainutdinov missed the empty target in a moment on the rebound. The team of Andrei Fedorov, who is currently the acting head coach of Lokomotiv, looked quite good against the background of CSKA and still lost again – 0:1. Another goal of the army team at the end of the meeting was annulled by the referees for Yegor Ushakov’s foul in attack, after which he managed to earn a second yellow and, consequently, a red card. But the railroad got a numerical advantage already in time pressure.

If Lokomotiv was stuck in 14th place, then CSKA with 29 points ousted Spartak from the top three, which on Sunday will host the worst club of the championship, Torpedo, and can again break away by three points from the closest pursuers.

Alexander Ilyin