Rubin defeated Wings of the Soviets at home – 2:1

At the start of the fifth round of the Russian Football Championship, Rubin defeated Krylya Sovetov at home – 2:1. Thus, the Kazan team won the first victory, while Samarans, who were in the group of leaders, lost for the first time and did not use the chance to at least temporarily rise to second place.

By the fifth round, Krylya Sovetov came up with zero defeats, which only Krasnodar and Ural managed to achieve, while Rubin had zero victories. Samarans were in fifth place with eight points, and Kazan – in 14th with two. And if the head coach of the Wings, Igor Osinkin, had nothing to worry about, then his colleague Rashid Rakhimov found himself in a position in which he had practically no right to make a mistake, or, more precisely, to a negative result.

There was even information that the mentor of Rubin was threatened with resignation and the match with Wings of the Soviets would allegedly become decisive in his fate, and at best he would receive a credit of trust before meeting with Dynamo in the next round.

True, the sports director of the Kazan club, Konstantin Dzyuba, said that these were all rumors. According to him, the management of Rubin still trusts Rakhimov and has not given him any ultimatums. “At the same time, we understand that the team’s results create grounds for various rumors and misinformation,” Konstantin Dzyuba told the club’s press service. “Everyone is aimed at correcting the current situation.”

Meanwhile, “Wings” in case of victory came out with 11 points in second place, so they needed it no less than “Rubin”. Already in the opening, the opponents scored once from the set pieces. That’s just the goal of Samarans Nikita Saltykov was annulled due to offside, and Kazan’s Alexei Gritsaenko scored according to the rules, heading the ball from the near post to the far corner. But the guests quickly leveled the score. Central defender Alexander Soldatenkov gave a long pass to Benjamin Garre, and the skilled Argentine, flying one on one with the goalkeeper, did everything perfectly.

However, “Rubin” in the first half made another scoring attack, when Marat Apshatsev closed Dmitry Kabutov’s serve and seemed to miss the right moment, as Glenn Bale managed to block his shot. But a closer look at the episode on VAR revealed that the Dutchman played with his elbow, and referee Sergei Tsyganok appointed a penalty. Now Mirlind Daku seemed to have ruined a 100% opportunity, punching right into goalkeeper Ivan Lomaev, who stood in the center of the goal until the end. The Kazan team was lucky that the captain of the team Alexander Martynovich was the first to come running and put the ball into the net.

Moreover, the Wings not only lost the first half, but also lost their leader Garre due to injury. However, immediately after the break, they could bounce back twice. First, goalkeeper Yuri Dyupin rescued the Kazan team, when Fernando Costanza hit his head, and then Martynovich took Saltykov’s blow. Samarans continued to attack a lot, while in such a game they just lacked Garre’s ingenuity. Gradually, the offensive ardor of the guests completely faded, and the hosts almost increased the difference when Kabutov hit from behind the penalty area and the rebound from his defender disoriented Lomaev. Yes, and the same Daku periodically strained him.

Well, when Bale was removed from the field at the end of the match for the second yellow card, it was already quite difficult for the Wings to count on a relatively favorable outcome. There was no mention of victory at all. They tried to catch at least a draw, earned a few standards, but the Kazan team acted strictly in defense and won the first victory in the championship – 2:1. Osinkin’s wards, in turn, suffered their first defeat.

Alexander Ilyin