Torpedo goes on a winter break with hope

This is how the club's fans and specialists should perceive the words of the head coach of the car factory Andrey Talalaev at the post-match press conference of the lost match against Ural. Cup of Russia. Group D. Luzhniki. "Torpedo" 1:2 "Ural" (Yekaterinburg). Goals: Bikfalvi - 54' (penalty), Bikfalvi - 73', Laptev - 78'.

Both teams took to the emerald lawn of Luzhniki in T-shirts with the inscriptions "Thank you, Mom!" November 27 is Mother's Day in Russia. Low bow to all MOMs!

The minimum number of spectators, the hundredth game of Alexander Ryazantsev for the car factory, the dull game of Torpedo, the victory in the Ural class, two Bikfalvi goals, another protracted TV viewing by the referee (this time by Yan Bobrovsky) and an honest confession from the Torpedo coach after the match - these are the results of the last game at the country's main stadium this calendar year.

The first half was played by both teams. But, if the guests can be forgiven for this, then the Torpedo team once again failed in front of their already few fans. We must pay tribute to Andrey Talalaev, who honestly admitted after the match that he had a lot of complaints about his own players.

But the second segment of the match pleased a few fans with goals, and a “soap opera” when a penalty kick was awarded, and even an assault on “Torpedo” at the end of the match. First, the guests opened the scoring - in the 54th minute, Eric Bikfalvi converted a penalty and put Ural ahead. True, all this stretched out for almost six minutes.

In the 49th minute, the referee Yan Bobrovsky, who was in a very good position, mistakenly did not award a 11-meter kick in favor of the guests when Stefan Shapic knocked down Alexei Kashtanov in his own penalty area. The referee initially suggested that the Torpedo players perform a goal kick. But then, within four minutes, first VAR Kirill Levnikov, and after him Bobrovsky himself, watched several video replays. At that moment, Shapich knocked out Kashtanov's right leg and stepped on his ankle. As a result, the referee's first decision was changed - the Urals were offered to shoot a penalty kick. Why in the championship of Russia these "views" are stretched for long minutes is not clear.

In the 73rd minute, the Romanian legionnaire from Ural managed to get a brace, clearly realizing his chance. The goalkeeper of the hosts Yegor Baburin had no opportunity to help his team - the leather sphere treacherously fluttered in the Torpedo goal net.

Automakers quickly bounced back. A rare attack of the guests was perfectly closed by Denis Laptev, leaving no chance to the goalkeeper of the Urals Ilya Pomazun. The assault on Torpedo did not lead to anything - and the owners of the huge, almost empty, stadium ended the calendar year with another defeat. And the wards of Viktor Gancharenko extended their unbeaten streak to 11 matches.

In another Group D match, CSKA beat Sochi on the road with the same score - 2:1. According to the results of the group stage, CSKA scored 13 points and took second place in the standings, letting Ural (14) go ahead. Next is Torpedo (7) and will play in the playoffs with the teams of the First League. "Sochi" (2) flew out of the tournament.

“We understand that now is the winter break, we need to rest, see what kind of transfer policy to turn. Maybe we can find players who can strengthen us. The team has character, and this is important, ”Ural coach Viktor Gancharenko summed up the winning match.

The correspondent of our publication had two traditional questions to the Torpedo coach.

Why did the team start playing after the second conceded goal?
- Creative experiments: rebuilt the scheme. We wanted to see if we could play 4 defenders with these players in defense, if another player in the middle of the field would help in pressing. This search in the first half came to nothing. Released fresh players in the second half with the expectation to put pressure on a weak spot. Ural's two tall central defenders did not insure the flanks, and the defensive players did not always run into the flanks. We hoped that fresh players would find the zones. 3-4 times it turned out to enter them, but there was not enough accuracy. And long-range strikes did not go today. Ravil Netfullin has not played for a long time. When you prepare something, a lot depends on the execution. Something started to work out in the second half. I'm not satisfied with the quality of how it happened. Mistakes in defense are the answer to why we played 5 defenders.

Winter break. Will you consider Dziuba or a similar striker? How do you see the spring to stay in the RPL?
- We with the coaching staff yesterday until half past three in the morning considered candidates. We have a lot of restrictions. Fans I always invite fans to practice if you don't go to games. Come to the pregame, share your emotions with the players. So that the players do not go out and do not serve the number, as it was in the first half today. Unfortunately, demanding fans do not come. There are no fast forwards under the age of 33-34 on the Russian market. We already have one of the oldest teams. There are reasons to use all options. I can say frankly - we are looking at the Latin American and African market. We need a fast forward who can complete the team's efforts. There were a few good breaks. We understand that Laptev and Lebedenko will not run away, they play well in the fight between the lines. Turishchev does not sell yet. We need a fast hitter. We have tried all options. They released Simonyan: in training they saw that he was not up to par, but he could make passes. They tried Reichmen, Ryazantsev, Enin was transferred, Lebedenko was lowered into these zones. Everything to have penetrating passes. There are no players under 32 with such qualities on the Russian market. We are forced to enter other markets. If you buy Balkans, then there will be more of them than Russians. This is also wrong. Serious work lies ahead for the president, management, selection service. I hope these issues will be resolved. This is the vision of our coaching staff. Either we will find a joint solution, or we will look for a way out of the situation.

Honestly, in detail, without "transfusion from empty to empty" and without non-constructive praise of his players, Andrey Talalaev answered my questions. Let's hope that he and his team will be able to strengthen during the winter break, and in the spring to rectify the situation in the championship and not be relegated to the First League.

Sabadash Vladimir.

Photo - Ekaterina Konkina and Sergey Vinogradov.