“Oh my god! How could I miss it! The Akhmat player knocked down Safonov and shot the post from a couple of meters
Anatoly Romanov September 16, 2023, 18:45 Moscow time
RPL leader Krasnodar dropped points in Grozny, but miraculously did not concede a goal that could have made them lose.
The championship leader, Krasnodar, lost two points, drawing away from home with Akhmat 1:1. But this match will be remembered not for the goals, but for the fantastic mistake of the forward of the Grozny team.
Spertsyan was not in Krasnodar’s starting eleven. Obviously, this was due to the fact that the midfielder played two difficult matches for the Armenian team and was not in optimal physical condition. In fact, the match started with a score of 1:0 in favor of Akhmat. Already in the third minute, Miroslav Romashchenko’s team scored after an error by Chernikov. Kovachev took the ball away from the Bulls defensive midfielder and Oleynikov darted into the box between the central defenders and took advantage of the home team’s first opportunity. The RPL leader had a hard time trying to get out of the defense with a pass through the middle. However, perhaps Kovachev fouled Chernikov. A very difficult episode for the judges, but the goal was still counted.
After that, Vladimir Ivich’s team possessed the ball 70% of the time and had a huge territorial advantage. Volkov’s right-back constantly flew forward, creating width on his flank (which forced Berisha to take fifth place in the defensive line). Three were left behind. “Akhmat” practically all the players sat behind the ball line and defended deeply. Therefore, Krasnodar did not find free spaces and did not create moments. The exception was the episode in which Córdoba flew one by one from almost the center of the field and scored, but the Colombian was offside.
The locals were close to achieving a legitimate second goal. The episode began with Safonov unsuccessfully throwing the ball with his hand to Córdoba. Either the goalkeeper himself made a mistake, or Córdoba was lazy and failed to advance, one way or another, Chelikovic intercepted the ball and almost became the author of the assist: Berisha, after his pass, hit the post.
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However, after half an hour of play, the tired locals deflated. But Krasnodar maintained its speed and Shelia’s scoring chances came one after another. Chelikovic himself was the center of attention. At first, the newcomer became a hero: he cleared the ball from the goal line after a shot from Córdoba. So… an antihero. A rebound off Chelikovic’s foot, unfortunate for Akhmat, led to Kadi Borges, who replaced Spertsyan, to receive the ball in a shooting position and calmly score. Also, at half-time Krasnodar could have won. The “Bulls”, thanks to the loss of Timofeev, organized a four-on-three counterattack. And how Olusegun failed! Instead of scoring, the Nigerian was injured when he crashed into the post.
But Olusegun’s miss is nothing compared to what Ilyin did at the start of the second half. This was the mistake of the season! A curiosity simply impossible to believe. Akhmat’s striker passed the ball to Oleinikov, then received the ball from his teammate, made five touches and put Petrov and Safonov on the ground. In front of Vladimir there was an empty door. It was more difficult not to score at such a time than to score, and this is not a figure of speech at all. But Ilyin did it. All that was left was to repeat to the commentator: “My God, how you missed it! I don’t know a simpler time…”
Krasnodar started the match long after the break, but this episode seemed to bring down the RPL leader. The guests hung up, the hosts carried out several more dangerous attacks. The central axis of Ivic’s team lacked reliability: most of Akhmat’s passes were attacked from different points in the center. Apparently, for this reason, the Serbian coach changed Kadi Borges and Krivtsov midway through the half, and left Spertsyan free for the last half hour. Only then did the Krasnodar team regain its advantage in the game, winning many set pieces, but still spending every moment in agony.
And in the last minutes of the game it seemed that both teams were more afraid of losing than wanting to win. The game calmed down and took a positional direction. Apparently, this result really suited both Romashchenko and Ivic. For Akhmat, the draw meant that the hosts were not inferior to the leader (and even surpassed them in shots on goal 6-4), and the Krasnodar team was satisfied with the fact that they would bring points back from a difficult trip. However, in stoppage time Córdoba was able to score after a cross from the left. The Colombian managed to shoot dangerously, despite Celikovic holding him by the shirt. The VAR referees were probably reviewing the episode with a view to awarding a penalty. No fault was found.
