The teams mirrored each other in the first round, synchronously losing to opponents with the same score 1:2. Therefore, each of the teams needed a victory in the reporting game. Before the start of the match between Akhmat and CSKA, it was even impossible to imagine what extravagance, including arbitration, this match would turn into.
PENALTY AND RED “AHMATU”
The beginning of the match for the Grozny players turned out to be disappointing, already in the 10th minute the army team scored a penalty, plus the main referee of the St. Petersburg match, Vladislav Bezborodov, sent off the Akhmat player. . After a cross from the left edge of the penalty area, Milan Gaich managed to catch the ball almost on the front line and from an acute angle hit the goal, which was covered only by defender Marat Bystrov, and hit it with his hand . ! The penalty was converted by the main scorer of CSKA Fedor Chalov, and Bystrov received a red card for “lack of last resort.”
The hosts rushed to make up even if it was in a truncated composition, they had no other choice. It is true that all these attacks were easily leveled by the defense of the army. The ball almost did not reach Igor Akinfeev. CSKA, using its game and quantitative advantage, flew into dagger counterattacks, clearly demonstrating that Vladimir Fedotov’s pupils are not going to limit themselves to just one goal.
Photo source: FC Akhmat
CONATE’S RESPONSE
In the 25th minute, Bezborodov, to the delight of the Grozny fans, returned the favor to the local team. Penalty in the opposite direction. Konstantin Kuchaev brought down striker Ivan Oleinikov in his penalty area, which Ivorian legionnaire “Akhmat” Mohamed Konate calmly converted. Rapid development of events in the first half of time.
But the game can not always be like a flare, giving the impression of a constant carnival. Towards the end of the first half, the game died down. Opponents only occasionally growled dangerous attacks, but they didn’t come to their logical conclusion. In Grozny, the goal scorer Oleinikov stood out especially for his active action, who due to his size had a certain advantage to move through CSKA’s defensive lines. The guests were active – either Anton Zabolotny or Fedor Chalov, which periodically made the Georgian goalkeeper Georgy Shelia nervous.
THE SAGA OF BEZBORODOV’S 11 METERS
In the last minutes of the half, not a thought remained that the hosts had a “minus one” football player, so Akhmat played the match on equal terms. When it seemed that the teams were going to go to the break, Bezborodov, after seeing the VAR, signaled the third penalty in the first half, again against Shelia. It was Zabolotny moving back into the Chechen club’s penalty area, trying to get to the ball, and Russian national team defender Andrei Semenov hit him in the leg. Fedor Chalov also did not give the goalkeeper a chance for the second time.
Photo source: FC Akhmat
However, today’s judge was in shock. In the fifth added minute, Akhmat was once again entitled to a penalty. Oleinikov against Akinfeev, but Igor doesn’t give many chances, and this time he took the ball out to the left corner. But that was not all. After Akhmat’s missed penalty, the VAR judges brought Bezborodov’s attention to the fact that during the foul, Milan Gaich also committed a “last hope foul” and received a late red card, and at the same time, the hosts got the right to another penalty. which was converted by Mohammed Konate himself. The killer first half, which consisted of many penalties and red cards, lasted almost 55 minutes.
During the break, it turned out that the referee Bezborodov, according to the VAR protocol in the RPL, did not have the right to access the video review after Akhmat had already taken the penalty and, accordingly, the game was resumed: the protocol provides for such exceptions only in case of misidentification of the player who violated the rules, or in case of a violation associated with aggressive behavior: spitting, biting, etc.
TERRIBLE ON FIRE
The second half started strongly: already in the first minute, Konate was one on one with Akinfeev, but he shot clumsily and much higher than the gate. And in principle, the hosts somehow went on the attack with a lot of desire. The CSKA football players looked frankly dejected, as if the whole situation in the first half knocked the guests out of their usual routine.
Photo source: FC Akhmat
Behind the incomprehensible refereeing screen, the action itself on the field somehow faded away. The teams seemed to anticipate the new interesting decisions that the referees would make. Soccer went to an eleventh plan. In the 70th minute, Akhmat again broke out with an attack, and only the reaction of Igor Akinfeev with the help of the legendary “God’s foot” prevented a clear threat from the gates of the army.
FIFTH PENALTY
In the 75th minute it was time for the already experienced Rizvan Utsiev to save his team from an inevitable goal. In some incredible jump, the defender removed the danger from his goal. Rare activity in the game. Chaotic attacks that sometimes turn into dangerous moments. In the 78th minute, Bezborodov, after another VAR review, took Akhmat’s third penalty and fifth for the match. Fedor Chalov made no mistake this time either, celebrating a natural treble of solid penalties. A unique match that will remain forever in the history of Russian football.
Dispirited, “Akhmat” practically did not attack, and if something worked, it looked very tasteless. The Grozny players had neither the physical nor the moral strength to organize the final assault and at least a semblance of volume. In the fifth added minute, Bezborodov also removed the hosts’ defender Semyonov. 3:2 and CSKA got the first victory in the 2023/2024 season.
