Lokomotiv was eliminated from the Russian Cup, losing to Ural in the round of 16 match of the second phase of the Path of the Regions. Mikhail Galaktionov’s team did not win a single one of its five games in 2024: this looks like a serious crisis.
At Lokomotiv, Pinyaev and Karpukas, who missed the last round of the RPL due to disqualification, returned to the lineup. But Dziuba, Tiknizyan and Nyamsi were not yet listed in the application. In addition, Barinov was added to the list of losses. Just before the start of the match, the head coach of the Railwaymen, Galaktionov, commented on the situation of the injured:
“Everyone has different injuries, different recovery times. Tiknizyan is definitely preparing for Akhmat, we look forward to his return. According to Dzyuba, there is also hope for Akhmat, but not as much as for Nair. As for Barinov, he was injured on the eve of his flight to Yekaterinburg. There will only be clarity on this when we return to Moscow.”
In this combination of players, Lokomotiv spent half the time searching for themselves and Ural started the home match strongly. The locals attacked with speed and put pressure. As a result, already in the 7th minute they scored a quick goal: they used a set piece. After a corner kick, Kashtanov prevailed and made a discount, after which the ball successfully bounced for the home team to Emmerson. The defender stood right in front of the goal; even those who are more accustomed to destroying than creating do not fail in those positions.
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In the Urals, Dmitriev got an interesting role. When defending, he sat fifth in the line of defenders and helped control the width. When attacking, he ran forward, and Viktor Goncharenko’s team had young and fast wings in the person of the son of the 1988 Euro winner and Ishkov. But Lokomotiv kept his young talent – Pinyaev. Halfway through the first half he made a strong bid to participate in the Olympic slalom, making a very steep pass. The locals were saved by Alexey Mamin (Pomazun’s number one substitute), and in the next episode, after a header from Sarveli, the crossbar was saved.
Galaktionov’s team, like no other in Russian football, is used to recovering when losing on the scoreboard during matches. Loko pressed as hard as they could and Ural, led by goalkeeper Mamin and his central brother Artyom, held on as best they could. At half-time, the score in shots was 4:8 (on goal – 1:3) in favor of the Muscovites. But they failed to recover. Although Pinyaev created another good chance for Sarveli, the pass from him in the center of the box to an oncoming teammate was a little stronger than necessary.
The start of the second half is a hurricane! Ural scored just 18 seconds after the restart after a deceptive play from the center of the field. Goncharenko’s team carried out a quick attack, which was completed by Kashtanov. The scorer ran to celebrate with the fans and upon returning he found out that he was disallowed for offside. In fact, Ionov, who came on as a substitute, was in a hurry. In response, Lokomotiv carried out their attack and Glushenkov (he also appeared on the field only after the break) fell in the area after a duel with Emmerson. This moment did not lead to a penalty, although the defender-sniper jumped dangerously towards the ball.
Football was lively, emotional, double-edged, and what more does a fan need? In Yekaterinburg, 12,000 people came to watch the battle for the cup. Not bad for these times. Meanwhile, the heroes of the first part remained in the spotlight. Emmerson could have scored twice more with his head from set pieces, Pinyaev almost organized an own goal for Ural.
With 20 minutes left the most controversial moment of the game occurred. Goalkeeper Mamin flew across the goal and hit Pinyaev in the face with his knee, causing the winger to take a slight fall. The VAR assistants called referee Levnikov to witness the replay of the penalty. However, the boss did not impose the 11 meter penalty. Levnikov apparently decided that the movement of the goalkeeper’s leg while jumping was natural, meaning that it was not a foul, but simply an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances.
Lokomotiv always achieves something in the end, losing on the scoreboard, but in Yekaterinburg the final assault did not work at all for the railwaymen. The hosts received the visitors well in the midfield, pushing the rivals out of their area. “Ural” eliminated Galaktionov’s team and, one might say, took revenge for the defeats in the 2017 and 2019 cup finals.
