When the Smoke Lifted…

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SOGAZ Russian Football Championship. MD 17. FC Zenit (Saint Petersburg) – FC Krasnodar – 4:0

FC Zenit (Saint Petersburg) – FC Krasnodar– 4:0 (1:0)

GoalsGaray, 11 (1:0), Witsel, 55 (2:0), Danny, 62 (3:0), Smolnikov, 68 (Hulk, 4:0).

FC Zenit (Saint Petersburg): Lodygin, Smolnikov, Garay (Neto, 67), Lombaerts, Anyukov, Tymoshchuk (Sheydayev, 80), Fayzulin, Witsel (Javi García, 72), Danny, Hulk, Rondón.

FC Krasnodar: Dykan (Sinitsyn, 9), Petrov, Martynovich (Burmistrov, 45), Granqvist, Sigurðsson, Gazinskiy, Pereyra, Mamayev (Adzhindzhal, 70), Joãozinho, Wánderson, Ari.

Yellow cards:  Danny, 81 (cheating) – Mamayev, 42 (foul play).

Referees: Vilkov (Nizhny Novgorod), Kobzev (Moscow), Bogdanov (Vereya).

6 December. Saint Petersburg. Petrovsky Stadium. Snowstorm. – 2 degrees. 17 666 spectators.

 

FC Krasnodar boss Oleg Kononov had only 12 outfield players at his disposal for a fixture in Saint Petersburg save for Lanin and Batyutin, the two young pupils of the Club Academy. Injuries and suspensions weakened the Bulls during the finishing run of this autumn-winter part of the football season, so their lineup for the away match against the championship leader was far from optimal. In particular, for the first time in his career Sigurðsson assumed the position of the left full back and Wánderson came out to the pitch as the right forward, which is not entirely his accustomed position. As for the Saint Petersburg team, on the contrary, their key players returned to the match sheet: Hulk and Danny who did not play in Kazan made a start in the game. Moreover, Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas of FC Zenit designated most experienced Tymoshchuk into the defensive midfield zone.

The fact that there was not much in this match for the Bulls to depend on became apparent in the very beginning. One the 3rd minute two episodes occurred at the same time that clearly defined the referee’s priorities. The shot by FC Zenits’ Rondón in the away penalty area was blocked by Granqvist, the former took a fall and already in lying position handled the ball with his arm helping it bounce to available Danny. Fortunately, Dykan saved his team parrying the shot of a Portuguese player with his leg. Immediately the counterattack of the Bulls was launched, and Ari was ready to jump out for a rendezvous with Lodygin but he was not allowed to, as the referee assistant Kobzev observed the nonexistent offside position by the Krasnodar Brazilian.

Soon one more trouble befell the Krasnodar team. Dykan after managing to parry another shot, a solid one by Witsel this time, sustained an injury as early as on the 7th minute and was unable to continue the game passing his position in the net to Sinitsyn. It should be noted though that Smolnikov who had bumped into the keeper at full speed was not booked by referee Vilkov the way he deserved it, and a bit later same thing happened to Fayzulin who openly played with his hand and interrupted the attack of the opposition. On the other hand, any hint of foul on behalf of the Krasnodar players was not left out by the ref, so on the 11th minute another free kick he ordered resulted in an opener by FC Zenit. Hulk made a splendid shot and hit the goalpost, but Ezequiel Garay was the first one on rebound and scored at a short distance.

The Saint Petersburg players kept going forward accompanied with the growing snowstorm. On the 15th minute Sinitsyn played well in the net reacting to the shot by Hulk from the 18-yard line. The Krasnodar team once again tried to reply with a sweeping counterattack, so Joãozinho sent Ari to a one-one-one situation with the goalie, but the assistant ref spoiled this goal chance with his signal, too, making a new mistake because at the moment of pass the No. 9 of FC Krasnodar was in the right position.

Did FC Zenit actually need the assistance of referees when their players already looked fresher than those of the away team and confidently dominated the game? A rhetorical question it is. Anyways, the dangerous episodes kept arising next to Sinitsyn’s goal now. On the 18th minute the keeper made a beautiful dive and reached the ball sent from a header by Lombaerts directly into the top corner; on the 24th minute he was assisted by the crossbar that took up the shot by Rondón, and on the 35th minute the No. 88 of FC Krasnodar took a firm grip on the ball after an aimed shot by Danny.

After such a violent half an hour of the game the squad from the banks of Neva slowed down, and the first half was close to its end when another trouble caught the Bulls. During the duel with an opponent Martynoich suffered a recurrence of his recent injury, so he finished the match ahead of time the way Dykan had done before. There were no more defenders at Oleg Kononov’s disposal, so Nikita Burmistrov took to the field assuming a place on the left of the defense while Sigurðsson came back to his more natural central zone.

Vilkov added 3 minutes of the injury time to the first half, and these were the minutes when the away team just barely missed scoring an equalizer. At first Ari received a penetrating pass from Wánderson and managed to make a shot from the corner of the goal area from under Garay; Lodygin saved his team blocking the ball with his leg. Then immediately Joãozinho by miracle missed an offside position and the signal of the referee flag coming one-on-one with the keeper, but the ball after his shot merely brushed the first goalpost from the outside.

The second half was started by the Krasnodar players in a far more confident way than the first one, so 6 minutes after the game resumed they were once again close to score an equalizing goal. Wánderson found his fellow countryman Ari next to the 18-yard line with a classy pass, and the latter outstandingly turned the defender around trying to throw the ball over Lodygin with his trendy parachute shot. Ari’s aim was too low though and the keeper caught the ball. 

This burst of activity of the away team was returned by FC Zenit supporters with one of their own: something banged a few times in the Virage fan sector and FC Krasnodar’s penalty area got obscured with the clouds of thick smoke. Vilkov the ref did not stop the game for some reason, and when the smoke lifted the away team was starting from the centre of the pitch for the second time. No one in the stands understood what had actually happened in this scoring episode as it could not be seen. Just the replay from the particular cameras provides a fuzzy picture of what had happened. Smolnikov made a low cross into the box from the right, Sinitsyn got confused in this smoke where friend and foe were and beat off the ball to Axel Witsel who kept his wits about him and made a precise shot on the run.

This conceded goal broke the Bulls for good as they lost both their strength and will to keep fighting; as a result the Pitertsy started to play the master to their utmost at the opposite half of the pitch. Soon they scored a third goal, and not without referees’ assistance at that. Rondón received the ball on the 6-yard line in an offside position which the same assistant ref Kobzev was unwilling to observe this time. Even though the striker’s shot was blocked by Granqvist, the rebound went to Danny who hammered the ball under the crossbar of Sinitsyn’s domain. The third goal of the home team was followed by the fourth one, fully legal this time. Hulk saw Igor Smolnikov to the goal with a well-timed pass and the latter cut the ball skillfully over his former clubmate Sinitsyn.

After that the teams in general merely played to mach to its end, although both of them would not cease trying to alter the digits on the scoreboard. On the 72nd minute Ari made a header after a cross from the corner of the pitch and missed. 9 minutes later Danny burst into a rendezvous with Sinitsyn and preferred diving in the box to taking a shot on goal, so instead of a double he received a yellow card for cheating. There was also a canceled goal that was scored by FC Zenit from an offside position, as when the score reached 4:0 the refereeing became exaggeratedly impartial.

As a result, the Bulls lost in Saint Petersburg again, and for them this city continues to be quite an inhospitable one in regard to football. There is one good thing though, as in the second part of the season in spring FC Krasnodar is not to play against FC Zenit any more.