FC Sokol (Saratov) – FC Krasnodar – 0:5 (0:2)
Goals: Petrov, 20 (Adzhindhal, 0:1), Ari, 40 (Kaleshin, 0:2), Joãozinho, 50 (Petrov, 0:3), Joãozinho, 55 (Adzhindhal, 0:4), Ageyev, 76 (Petrov, 0:5).
FC Sokol (Saratov): Skornyakov, Gorbatyuk, Stolyarenko, Molodtsov, Semyakin, Korotayev Surkov, 62), Ryabokobylenko, Dutov, Degtyaryov, Markelov (Agaptsev, 72), Pavlov (Sapozhkov, 46).
FC Krasnodar: Sinitsyn, Jędrzejczyk, Martynovich, Granqvist, Kaleshin, Gazinskiy (Sigurðsson, 60), Petrov, Adzhindhal, Burmistrov, Joãozinho (Ageyev, 69), Ari (Komlichenko, 56).
Yellow cards: Martynovich, 77 (foul play).
Referees: Kazartsev (St. Petersburg), Shimarygin, Bolkhovitin (both Leningrad Oblast).
25 September. Saratov. Lokomotiv Stadium. Cloudy. 15 degrees. 13 200 spectators.
For the Russian Cup fixture in Saratov FC Krasnodar boss Oleg Kononov did not include suspended Pereyra (who was sent off the pitch during the May final of the Russian Cup 2013/14) and also the players advised by the team doctors against playing on the artificial turf, namely Mamayev, Bystrov, Izmailov and Akhmedov. The absence of these players undoubtedly weakened the middle line of the squad, but the starting 11 who took to the field of Lokomotiv Stadium in Saratov should have easily overcome the Russian National Football League debutant club, even though it temporarily occupied relatively high 6th position in its League.
However, the course of the game could have been affected by one more important factor, the turf, which in this ancient Volga city was also very ancient. This artificial turf was hastily laid some five years ago and it was already out of date back then, and those years didn’t make it any better. The ball wouldn’t roll on it and kept jumping instead like a stone skipping on the water, and that made the life significantly harder for the Krasnodar players accustomed to play the short and medium pass.
The starting 20 minutes were spent by the away team to adapt to the unusual turf. The Bulls didn’t manage to make their way close to the goal of FC Sokol, so they reasonably adopted the shots from afar as their primary weapon. Well, not they actually, but he, Sergei Petrov. On the 14th minute the No. 98 of FC Krasnodar tried his aim with the ball flying a bit to the right of target. On the 20th minute he aimed more accurately and from about 25 meters shot the ball precisely into the top corner with the desperate jump by the keeper merely giving the goal some additional beauty.
This was a turning point for the match, as Krasnodar players after taking the lead set themselves free for good and started playing their generic football: so much, of course, as the turf and the weird way the ball bounced allowed doing that. The home team did not forget about the attacks, too, but they rarely launched them as mostly the Bulls controlled the ball. When Pavlov, a striker of FC Sokol, finally managed a header after a cross from the corner of the pitch, the ball flew too high over the frame.
The away team had Ari playing set for a goal; the Brazilian now and then allowed himself really circus tricks while outplaying his opponents. On the 39th minute his shot from a killing position hit the defender, but his next attack doubled the FC Krasnodar’s lead in the score. Joãozinho started a scoring combination with a soft cross into the box of the saratovtsy. Kaleshin at full speed flew into there, then got the ball past the keeper in a tough but fair fight, and near the by-line made an aimed pass along the goal. Ari left behind the defenders and, several meters away, made jump and shot into the empty net.
Until the end of the first half the Bulls had enough time to conduct several more attacks, and one of those was finished by Kaleshin. The latter lacked more power for a shot, and Skornyakov captured the ball confidently. Finally, the first half was summed up in the stoppage time with a thick strike out of the box by Ryabokobylenko from Saratov, and Sinitsyn coped with it as if it were a child’s play, that is to say.
If someone still had doubts about the outcome of the game, those were dispelled for good soon after the half-time by No. 22 of FC Krasnodar. In five-minute session Joãozinho made two outstandingly precise shots about 23 meters away, and every time the ball pierced the far top corner of Skornakov’s net. Petrov and Adzhindzhal assisted Joãozinho in these episodes.
After that Oleg Kononov easily removed three key players from the pitch: Ari, Gazinskiy and Joãozinho. By turns, Komlichenko, Sigurðsson and Ageyev took to the field of play, the junior players assuming quite familiar positions (Komlichenko as centre-forward and Ageyev as a flank midfielder) and the Icelander made his debut as a defensive midfielder.
All the three players joined the game very actively and each of them had a chance to score. On the 68th minute Komlichenko placed his “stick” hockey-style after Sigurðsson’s slap shot, and the goalie saved FC Sokol. Sigurðsson himself on the 79th minute was aiming into the far corner after a good pass by Adzhindzhal but missed the target. Then Aleksandr Ageyev scored a crazy goal three minutes later. After receiving a timely pass from Petrov he continued the parade of super shots and kicked the ball like he meant it under the crossbar. Skornyakov brushed the ball with the tips of his fingers, but he was unable to save his team from the fifth goal. This goal became a symbolic one for FC Krasnodar, as for the first time in its history the intern of the Club Academy marked himself with a scored goal in an official match.
As a matter of fact, the game in the last 20 minutes became somewhat merry. Krasnodar players did not cease pushing forward, but also weakened the leash on FC Sokol and allowed them to launch several quite dangerous attacks. Saratovtsy really wanted to score at least once to make their full-house of supporters a bit happier. Unfortunately for them, either the home team was extremely unlucky with the finishing, or Sinitsyn stood impregnable as a last barrier. In the end the Bulls achieved both a runaway and whitewash victory.
Now in the round of 16 FC Krasnodar will host FC Krylia Sovetov Samara who knocked out FC Ural Yekaterinburg from the tournament. According to the Cup schedule the matches of this round are to take place on October 29 and 30 this year.