The Russian men’s team played for the first time in the new season

Needless to say, the departure of our national team to Tajikistan was perceived with particular interest. And she had not yet met with this opponent, and as a head coach, Konstantin Maevsky was waiting for her debut, and the roster received a major update.

It is clear that it would be illogical to call our masters from somewhere in Portugal for friendly matches in Central Asia. Plus, among the representatives of the Super League who played at Euro 2022, many have crossed the 30-year milestone, and since it is not known when the team will be able to return to official games, the clip had to be determined “for growth”. Therefore, of the vice-champions of the continental championship, only Dmitry Putilov and Artem Niyazov went on a trip. Undoubtedly, if Yanar Asadov had not fallen under covid restrictions, he would also have played in February at the forum in Holland. So it was this trio in Dushanbe that was the backbone of the national team.

There were others on the tour who, during their careers, volunteered for it: Nikolai Balashov, Nikita Fakhrutdinov, Andrey Ponkratov. However, the new wave prevailed. I remember how the honored coach of Russia Mikhail Bondarev once told me about Pavel Simakov: “The defender for the national team is growing.” However, a long time passed from this prophecy to a fait accompli. The invitation of Sergey Denisov and Dmitry Zaitsev could be explained by the fact that Mayevsky is now working with them in the club – Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, therefore he sees their growth with his own eyes. Andrei Zabolonkov clearly fit into the top four due to the club connection in the Communist Party. But the appearance of Pavel Karpov, Anton Rubtsov, Mikhail Moskalev was more difficult to explain – why exactly them?

The results of the matches for the Russians were diametrically opposed – 7:10 (3:3) and 6:2 (4:1). The contribution of the links to the effectiveness looked just as contrasting. Of the regular players in the top four, Asadov scored five goals, Niyazov – three, Zabolonkov – one. Of the variables, Ponkratov scored twice and Denisov once. The latter hit the gates of the hosts as well, being promoted to the second quartet. A noticeable bias was also observed in the indicators of goalkeepers. Roughly speaking, Putilov conceded five goals in three halves, while Balashov conceded in one. Twice more, the players of Tajikistan hit an empty net when the Russians switched to the five-on-four format, trying to recoup.

As for the content, Payrav Vakhidov’s wards significantly outperformed their counterparts in speed in free space. The jet guys just threw the ball on the move, and the partners flew in a parallel course to our goal, ahead of the guardians. Their other trump card in the attack was high-quality tight shots from a long distance. The guests did not immediately adapt to such tactics.

The day after the experiments in the opening match, Mayevsky specifically set himself up for revenge. Simakov didn’t even change because of the injury, but Balashov, Moskalev, Zaitsev received only symbolic playing time shortly before the final siren. In many ways, it was possible to prevent other people’s attacks on the move, and in positional actions, the Tajik team did not look so skillful.

Georgy Morozov.

Photo: RFS.RU