FC Krasnodar – FC Ufa – 0:2 (0:1)
Goals: Marcinho, 7 (Handžić, 0:1), Marcinho, 53 (0:2).
FC Krasnodar: Sinitsyn, Jędrzejczyk, Granqvist, Sigurðsson, Burmistrov, Gazinskiy, Akhmedov (Laborde, 60), Pereyra, Bystrov (Izmailov, 52), Joãozinho, Ari (Wánderson, 60).
FC Ufa: Yurchenko, Sukhov, Alikin, Tishkin, Tumasyan, Zaseyev, Paurević, Semakin (Frimpong, 46), Marcinho, Diego Carlos (Safronidi, 74), Handžić (Galiullin, 65).
Yellow cards: Gazinskiy, 60 (foul play), Pereyra, 81 (foul play) – Tishkin, 30 (attack breakdown), Frimpong, 66 (unsporting behaviour), Zaseyev, 70 (foul play), Galiullin, 90+2 (unsporting behaviour).
Referees: Nikolayev (Moscow), Glot (Yaroslavl), Cheltsov (Moscow).
14 September. Krasnodar. Kuban Stadium. Clear. 22 degrees. 7 856 spectators.
Having taken a breath during the two-week pause in the domestic championship after an incredibly rich and intense August the Bulls now hosted a match against the newcomers to the Russian elite football league from Ufa. FC Krasnodar boss Oleg Kononov assigned a rather battle-tried squad for this fixture, and it looked especially attack-oriented with an introduction of Nikita Burmistrov, a nominal forward, to the position of the left full-back.
It was Nikita who made an attempt to rouse the partners to action with his activities on the flank in the beginning of the game, and with the 4th minute almost over, the goal of FC Ufa witnessed its first dangerous episode. Bystrov was rushing at full speed to meet a cross by Joãozinho, but the defender of the away team in a fight managed to prevent the Krasnodar player from shooting the target precisely. About two minutes later FC Ufa scored an unexpectedly easy goal. Handžić in a counterattack pushed the ball forward and Marcinho leaving all the defenders of FC Krasnodar behind with a feint scored coolly in the one-on-one situation with Sinitsyn.
Such a shocking beginning did not confuse the home team too much and they continued their unhurried siege of Yurchenko’s domain. On the 12th minute the goalie of the Bashkir squad got involved in the game for the very first time blocking Pereyra’s tough shot with his legs. In the next attack the Black-greens whirled their trendy carrousel in FC Ufa’s box, Joãozinho delivered the ball to Ari and the latter hit the goalpost from the penalty mark area.
Nevertheless, the Bulls did not manage to score a quick equalizer. Their attacks clearly lacked more speed, which was to the advantage of the opposition who not merely did well in defense but also pressed themselves forward at the first opportunity. After spending half an hour of the game the teams shared dangerous free kicks. Krasnodar players made an unusual combination for their one, and the Bashkir team was saved from a sure goal by Tumasyan who got in the way of the ball Joãozinho sent flying into the net from about 10 meters. Marcinho, a Brazilian from FC Ufa, in his turn got the ball splendidly over the defensive wall and made Sinitsyn show his skills saving it just then and once again after Diego Carlos attempted a finishing shot.
Later on and up to the end of the fist half FC Krasnodar kept attacking but showed no spark in their game, so the half time was met with the reasonable 1:0 and FC Ufa ahead.
The second half was started by the Black-greens in the same lineup but with some more zeal. On the 48th minute Ari broke away from the opposition on the flank and it’s a pity that there was nobody there to meet his sharp cross. A few minutes later Pereyra in the corner of box made a shot into the far top corner of the net and missed it just barely.
Soon Izmailov took the field as a sub to Bystrov, and almost immediately FC Ufa celebrated their second success. A free kick assigned by the ref about 40 meters away from the goal seemed to promise little harm, but Sinitsyn acted clumsily attacking the ball after the kick by Marcinho, and the ball jumped into the net behind his back.
One hour into the match saw two more substitutions by the Bulls: Ari and Akhmedov were subbed by Laborder and Wánderson. Both of them entered the game actively enough, and just a minute later Izmailov made a low biting shot from 20 meters; Yurchenko saved it and the defender didn’t allow Wánderson to finish it.
The Bulls firmly encircled the penalty area of the opposition, but their monotonous attacks lacked some zest; besides, players of FC Ufa felt the desired victory coming near and made a stand next to their goal. When Krasnodar players finally managed to get into shooting positions Dame Fortune cynically turned her back on them. Thus, on the 76th minute Laborde failed to outplay Yurchenko in the contact fight. Four minutes later the same Laborde paired by Wánderson ran away to the lone keeper, but the Brazilian forward contrived to miss even here making a finishing shot. Wánderson had one more chance to mark himself during the stoppage time set by the ref, but even this attempt of his achieved nothing as the goalie beat off the ball for a corner kick.
With such a weak finishing one cannot hope for the points, and for the second time in a row FC Krasnodar left the home pitch with no goals scored suffering a 0:2 defeat.