Spertsyan stayed within millimeters of a single goal from a corner! But he is not upset.
Kirill Zakatchenko July 30, 2023, 22:36 Moscow time
Krasnodar topped the RPL table, while Sochi suffered their first loss of the season.
Krasnodar and Sochi held the first Krasnodar Territory derby of the season. The hosts won by scoring a goal at the end of each half.
The Krasnodar match was of great importance for both teams. It sounds trite, but it actually happened. The winner of this match took a clear first place in the table. At least for one day, before the match with Spartak. “Bulls” in the previous round beat “Dynamo” (3: 1) on the road, competently punishing the opponent for errors in defense. Sochi had a lesser status rival, namely Baltika. But the victory of this is no less valuable – 2:0.
How Krasnodar played the first game of the season:
Terrible imports ruined Lichka’s debut. Krasnodar crushed Dynamo at the beginning of the season!
Dmitry Khokhlov’s team started very cheerfully and created sharpness at the gates of others with the efforts of Miguel Silveira. The Brazilian legionnaire from the guests struck from an acute angle – Matvey Safonov deflected the ball into the corner. And this is in the first minute! However, it seemed that Miguel did not choose the best continuation of the development of the attack. I shoot from a difficult position instead of rolling the ball towards a teammate. Forget the Brazilian: he would have become a hero, so he had questions.
Krasnodar suffered a defeat even before the half-time whistle. Vyacheslav Chernikov took off his mask and left the field due to injury. Apparently, the Krasnodar midfielder was injured in a clash with Kirill Kravtsov and played after that for another 20 minutes. In this regard, Vladimir Ivic increased the number of legionnaires – Kevin Lenini entered the game.
Alexander Chernikov (left) was injured in a duel with Kirill Kravtsov
Photo: FC Sochi
It seemed that the first half would not please the fans with goals, but the norm came to the aid of the hosts. Eduard Spertsyan slyly turned towards goal from a corner, but Sochi goalkeeper Nikolai Zabolotny got confused and clumsily hit the ball in front of him. Caio, who had been running from half a meter, pushed him into the net. By the way, a few days ago a new goalkeeper appeared in Sochi – the club rented Nikita Goylo from Zenit. No matter how in the next round the team did not enter the field with a new goalkeeper at the base.
In general, the first half was even. Yes, Krasnodar had more possession of the ball (61% vs. 39%), but the teams hit the same number of shots: five each. At the same time, the hosts hit the target once, and the guests twice. By the way, the author of the only shot on goal for the “bulls” Caio last season did not score a single goal in the RPL (he played 20 matches). And now he stood out already in the 2nd round.
Cayo scores the winning goal in the Krasnodar Territory derby
Photo: FC Krasnodar
Frankly, the hosts were lucky in the opening minutes of the second half. The ball, after being struck by Artur Yusupov, bounced off Lenini and flew behind Safonov’s back, but went over the crossbar. Fortunately for fans of Krasnodar. After that, the initiative passed to the owners, who began to ruin one moment after another. The banners of the “bulls” looked especially dangerous.
In a couple of episodes, Zabolotny played very well. For example, he dragged a shot from Spertsyan from a free kick and moved the ball to a corner after a header from Junior Alonso. And when the goalkeeper was powerless, the defenders insured him. So Vanya Drkusich blocked Ilzat Akhmetov’s blow from a lethal position at the last moment. However, the Krasnodar players themselves squandered their moments. It is still unclear how John Cordoba missed the target after a good combination.
Krasnodar was much closer to upsetting the opponent for the second time. True, I must say that Sochi looks good at the beginning of this season. However, Córdoba still scored the hosts’ second goal. Already in stoppage time, the Krasnodar striker dragged the ball from midfield into someone else’s penalty area, and then shot straight into the bottom corner. perfect hit!
and Krasnodar rose to the first line. Now Ivic’s team single-handedly leads the RPL table. True, already on July 31, Spartak can make its company at the top. To do this, you need to beat Sergei Ignashevich’s Baltika.
The events of all the games on Sunday of the 2nd day of the RPL are on our online:
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